Originally released in 2022, Stray's tale of friendship and a search for home captivated the collective attention of the gaming world and the internet at large. Initially, that was all thanks to its biggest hook — playing as a cat. A nameless, adorable stray that had many charmed before it'd even launched.

Stray's just saw macOS port in December 2023, and has a movie on the way, bringing the tale to the big screen. Though it's still early days, Annapurna Animation's lead, Andrew Millstein, explains that the the game was chosen for adaptation because "it is just wildly popular." In an interview with Swann Martin-Raget from BlueTwelve Studio, Destructoid discussed the world of Stray and what's to come next.

Stray — On the big, the small, and the fuzzy

Destructoid: Stray mostly takes place in Walled City 99. Its cyberpunk aesthetic is beautiful but dystopian, with some inhabitants doubting whether it is even possible to leave the abyss they dwell in. By the end, the game offers a hopeful answer. Was the plan always to make a hope-inspiring game? 

Martin-Raget: What we really tried to do is to not add a moral point of view to the themes we're approaching in the game. We're only showing possibilities through the eyes of a very neutral character without taking sides between good or bad and we let the players decide what to make of it and if they think it's overall a sad or hopeful message.

Destructoid: The game relies a lot on environmental storytelling, and it is led by a protagonist who can't speak. Did you find this style of storytelling a challenge? 

Martin-Raget: It’s definitely a wide-reaching constraint that changes a lot of things in how you approach the storytelling and the world building. But we also found that it opens up a lot of very interesting possibilities and it’s super helpful to “show and not tell” when we want to leave some room for the player’s imagination to fill the gaps. Creatively it ended up being something really inspiring and motivating for us.

Destructoid: As an occasional Mac player, I'm quite pleased that Stray has made its way to the platform, as it is often neglected. What was the motivation for the port? 

Martin-Raget: As game creators, our goal is always to have as many players as possible being able to enjoy our game and visit this world we made with our hearts. So we were really happy to have this opportunity to allow Mac players that are as avid and passionate as the others to experience and enjoy Stray.

The post Catching up with BlueTwelve and the world of Stray, right meow appeared first on Destructoid.

Three years ago, base builder and space simulation game Dyson Sphere Program was released and quite frankly blew my mind. I had already invested over 1,000 hours in Factorio and over 100 hours into Satisfactory, so I knew Dyson Sphere Program would be a game for me. What I didn't expect, however, was the massive scope of the game.

If you haven't played it—you really owe it to yourself to—Dyson Sphere Program basically drops you onto a planet in a bigger solar system, where you have to build up functioning factories to harvest the resources on the planet and tech up. Eventually, you'll leave that planet to find others with different resources, then set up a massive solar system-spanning production line that eventually expands across the galaxy. All of this with one goal in mind: to build a Dyson Sphere, a megastructure that encircles and harnesses the power of a sun. To say the game is big is an understatement.

Recently Dyson Sphere Program received an update titled the Dark Fog that added combat via a new alien threat of self-replicating machines aptly called the Dark Fog.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Zhou Xun, producer at developer YouthCat Games, about the Dark Fog update as well as the future of Dyson Sphere Program.

The Dark Fog Update

Destructoid: The new Dark Fog update is a very unique way to introduce combat to this already unique factory-building genre. What was the overall goal when adding Dark Fog to the game, and how did it get to its current state?

Zhou: The combat system was a key element of our original development plans, with The Dark Fog manifesting itself as a fleshed-out concept relatively early.

It was important that its role in the game made sense to the setting, so we landed on the concept of it being a self-replicating machine hive-mind, competing for energy to support the Centrebrain. Being an enemy that exists before the player begins their own Dyson Sphere Program, it creates an easy to believe and engaging conflict mechanic.

Once we locked down the ‘lore’ of the Dark Fog, next came identifying the visual elements to create something immediately identifiable to players. We wanted a sinister but luminous finish on their units, demonstrating their technological superiority from the outset. Their movement in large groups, seemingly endless in nature, gives them an incorporeal feel.

Our goal was to provide a juxtaposition to the calmer, peaceful building gameplay for players who wanted the extra challenge, and the visual flair the Dark Fog offers really brought this to life. For players looking for added excitement, it provides an entirely new way to play the game, and reinforces smart and considered building. Dyson Sphere Program has a dedicated and expert player base already, so it’s our job to give them an exciting change to the existing formula they know and love.

Destructoid: Is this the final form of Dark Fog, or do you plan to update and evolve the combat system even further?

Zhou: This update is just the beginning of getting to know the threat of The Dark Fog. Currently, most fights occur on ground level, with the scale of space battles starting off small.

We are building on this with the goal of creating large scale fights, with brand new space-based weapons, huge fleets and more so that players can match their aggression and take the war to their enemies.

We’re also exploring adding ‘ultimate’ weapons, which will enable players to remove the threat of the Dark Fog for good. We’re working diligently on enriching the combat experience and expanding on its promise, with the support of our community who have already offered excellent feedback.

Destructoid: I haven't gotten super far into the update but already the Dark Fog Hive is massive in my system, how big can the hive actually get? Also, how does the Dark Fog expand and assimilate other planets?

Zhou: The initial size of a hive resembles the scale of a planet, but this grows as it develops and expands. Eventually, players will be dealing with a monstrous star-sized hive, shaped like a giant, threatening snowflake. When players arrive on planets close to the orbit of a hive, they will soon see it loom over the skyline as it grows in size, which is a fun, if oppressive, visual.

The Dark Fog expands in two ways; between galaxies and within the same galaxy. Later growth stages will develop a seed which will travel to new galaxies and begin building there.

Each hive will also produce relay stations, moving between planets to establish bases. You may have seen these already, large machines that travel across planets, transporting energy and absorbing matter as they go.

So, overall, the Dark Fog is always developing, traveling and making new bases, which can be tracked in the starmap.

Destructoid: For players who may not know exactly how the system works, can you provide some insight to how this unique system adds a new enemy threat while also making sure they scale with players so that the player doesn't always feel rushed or like they are falling behind?

Zhou: In order to avoid either the player or The Dark Fog unfairly developing faster than each other, the Dark Fog system closely monitors the player’s data. Statistics such as power generation, power consumption and potential damage outputs are all tracked.

As this is a factory game power consumption, for example, is a vital performance indicator that demonstrates how a player is performing. A higher power use indicates an increase of output, which the Dark Fog will see as a growing threat. They understand that the more power you are using, the more likely you are to have the resources to attack them. From there, they will increase the amount of pressure they put on the player, resulting in more frequent attacks.

However, we also ensure that the Dark Fog isn’t able to outpace the player. As battles play out, the Dark Fog will gain experience, slowly building their power. So, if a player is passive, they will find the Dark Fog develops slowly, allowing them to stockpile defenses.

A highly aggressive player will find a worthy opponent, with more frequent attacks and higher damage output. This system is designed to ensure that each player faces a threat relative to their own, to keep the challenge balanced and rewarding.

The Dark Fog itself was designed with an almost biological, plant-based development in mind, one that grows slowly and roots itself into a world. We wanted to ensure they weren’t like other enemies in tower defense games, which tend to focus on attacks via a countdown or a gradual challenge increase beyond the player's control. The Dark Fog is a unique threat that has a logic to it, one that is controllable and integrates well with the existing automation factory gameplay. It means that players have to interact with it strategically and learn to work around the Dark Fog’s threat. For example, rushing to build a high-power use factory will lead to more attacks, but a considered, defensive approach will mean the Dark Fog is held at bay. However, the rewards for an offensive approach are highly valuable, which incentivizes players away from hiding behind gun turrets.

The future

Destructoid: Now that combat exists in Dyson Sphere Program, do you plan to add any more enemies or forces alongside the Dark Fog?

Zhou: Our first step is to optimize the current gameplay, and bring improvements to the combat system. From there, we will work on key goals for the combat update, and bring it to a baseline that allows for exciting gameplay in space and on the surface of planets.

It’s a great framework for further development, and beyond the launch of the 1.0 version, we’ll be creating more content to build it out.

Destructoid: This is truly a monumental update to an already massive game. What's next for Dyson Sphere Program?

Zhou: Optimization is a big part of our future plans, but there will be updates for the base game alongside this. Players were very excited for the combat update, and building on this will continue being a big focus for us. We want to ensure that we’re focusing on polishing the base game, and developing for a really strong experience for launch.

Destructoid: Any plans for additional free or paid big updates like this?

Zhou: The ‘Space Workstation’, a milestone reached during the crowdfunding campaign, is in development. This will be included as a free update for our players.

As for paid content, we haven’t made decisions on this yet as we still have a lot to consider about the game and rollout of future updates.

Our goal is to finish the content promised first, as that's what our audience deserves and expects. Once that's completed, we’ll take time to see if any ideas for future content are good enough and are worthy of our players' investment.

Destructoid: Even though DSP is in Early Access, it's extremely polished compared to most with that moniker. How long do you plan for DSP to be in Early Access and ideally what does the final product look like?

Zhou: We appreciate the compliment, it's great to hear what people are thinking about the game as it helps us to know we’re on the right track.

In all honesty, there are still many parts of the game that we feel are in their early access phase. UI, key settings, more and better localization are all areas we are constantly working on.

We’re conscious of the fact that a 1.0 launch can feel like a signal that developers are changing their focus, or even ending the development of the game. That’s not our approach; we want the game to reach the potential our players expect.

We currently don’t have a date for the 1.0 launch, as we have plenty of updates we want to test with our community. This will help the community generate their own expectations of what they feel a 1.0 version looks like, so that when we do decide to launch the game fully, it will feel deserved.

Dyson Sphere Program and the new Dark Fog update are currently available on Steam.

The post Interview: Dyson Sphere Program producer talks Dark Fog update and the future appeared first on Destructoid.

My sister introduced me to Homestar Runner via Strong Bad Email #48 "Ghosts." That was back in 2002, and I remember spending the rest of the evening watching everything else on the site. Then, I watched basically everything that The Brothers Chaps, Mike and Matt Chapman, put on the site from then on. Homestarrunner.com became as much of a friend to me as any of the actual humans who surrounded me during my high school days.

But, exactly like my high school friends, we went on to do our own thing. Homestar Runner gradually became more and more sporadic, as did I. Every once in a while, however, The Brothers Chaps would emerge to release something new for fans. At one point, there was nearly five years of silence before it was broken by Fish Eye Lens. We check in on each other, you know? Show we still care. Whenever we reconnect, it's just like the old days.

Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People was an unprecedented cultural shift. We can’t buy it anymore. Is there any possibility that future children will be able to experience it, or is it fated to lie at the bottom of the ocean next to the wreckage of the good ship Telltale? 

Do you still have real jobs, or are video games the future of the Brothers Chaps? 

We are always wandering in and out of various film and TV projects. We’re definitely enjoying working on and developing video games right now but the downside is that it’s such a time-consuming process that it becomes hard to simultaneously make other Homestar content. And then a year goes by and no one remembers who “Stong Band” is anymore. So we’re trying to find a balance. 

Is Videlectrix going to remain focused on saving (and expanding) the substantial back catalog of Homestar Flash games, or will we get brand-new games in the future? 

We have a buncha ideas for both approaches. It was really fun making and expanding Dangeresque: The Roomisode Triungulate for Steam/Itch. And it’d be cool to make Peasant’s Quest 2 or a console-playable version of Stinkoman 20X6. But it would be equally cool to make something totally new like Blistergeist 3D or a Thy Dungeonkid platformer. 

Do you want to tease us with anything? Like, maybe a fancy HD remaster of Peasant’s Quest? 

Here’s a few in-progress nuggets that might become our next releasable project. 

-Thy Dungeonkid - a Gameboy-style textroidvania platformer/point n’ click hybrid.

-Peasant’s Quest 2 - CGA sequel to Peasant’s Quest featuring Rather Dashing’s sister Fairly

-Some Kinda 3D Powered By The Cheat First Person Horror-ish Game

-A bonus Roomisode/Elevatorsode featuring Dangeresque Too

Me again

The post The Brothers Chaps of Homestar Runner fame talk about Videlectrix and the future of good graphics appeared first on Destructoid.

Game preservation is a topic close to my heart. For me, video games never age. I spend just as much time playing games from decades ago as I do with modern titles. My favorite games are the ones I’ve never played before, and that isn’t exclusive to the future.

Accessibility is therefore important, especially when it comes to PC titles where changes in operating systems, graphical processing, and even monitor resolutions have rendered a lot of old titles unplayable on modern setups. GOG has, for a long while now, been an important fixture to people like me. It provides easy access to retro titles from the DOS and early Windows days in formats that are typically simple to get working with minimal configuration.

Typically.

Recently, I’ve been interested in what drives the business of retro games. Is preserving old games on new platforms viable from a business standpoint, or is it always just a matter of passion? I got the chance to speak with Urszula Jach-Jaki, Managing Director at GOG, to dig deep into the details.

Publisher grip

There are only so many classic titles still up for grabs these days. Some might argue that the most important titles of yesteryear are still accessible, but that’s proveably bupkiss. Some large, significant publishers like EA and Warner Bros. hold on tightly to some of their most significant titles in their backlog. EA is perhaps the most vexing, as titles like SimCity or even The Sims aren’t readily available on even their own storefront.

I asked Jach-Jaki if GOG has tried working with these companies and why they’re so tight-fisted with their properties. “We can cite a few examples of well-known franchises that were not initially available in digital distribution,” they responded. “Thanks to our efforts, a re-release became a reality – Diablo, for example. However, it's always the publisher's decision, and we can only provide them with convincing arguments.

“There could be various reasons behind not releasing well-known titles. Sometimes, it's due to intellectual property ownership issues, with the publisher uncertain about whether they own 100% of the rights to the property (and proving this can be quite complex), or they simply lack the capacity to work on the old build and re-release the game on modern systems.”

There’s also the theory that the availability of games that have newer iterations, such as The Sims, would have their sales cannibalized by older, cheaper versions. However, SimCity has the 2013 version, but you can still purchase SimCity 2000, so the validity of the assumption is questionable.

Immediate profit

For that matter, I wondered what games are actually fit for re-release. Specifically, how does GOG estimate the profitability of re-releasing old titles. “The key metrics we assess before making a decision typically involve a blend of our experience, conclusions drawn from the past, certain business metrics, and the developers' vision and assumptions,” Jach-Jaki explained.

Further than that, they explain that sometimes it isn’t about how many sales a title will get. “It is not always about pure profit. Oftentimes, we invest to bring back games that didn't achieve commercial success, aiming to make fans of the game and our community happy – especially if fixing the game is not time-consuming. What helps us with these decisions is our community wishlist which we monitor on a regular basis. Some of the games at the very top are challenging to get, so we focus our attention on whatever's next in line, based on level of complexity (and that's usually a mix of who owned/owns the code/IP and what's the history behind the title).”

Since, as I said in the intro, I have to wonder if a lot of game preservation is a matter of passion over profit, I asked if all the games GOG has made available turned a profit, whether after launch or even during its lifetime. Is it worth bringing them back, even if they don’t turn a profit?

“Reviving many 'forgotten' titles may not be profitable in the short term,” Jach-Jaki told me. “Despite marketing efforts around these games, it won't change the fact that many of them may not garner enough attention. While we acknowledge this reality, preserving the legacy and keeping those games alive and accessible to all the gamers who appreciate them, as well as introducing them to new generations, is an important factor. This commitment sometimes means having to wait more time to recoup the investment. However, we can name many examples of re-released games, that continue to be very popular and profitable.”

“This may sound somewhat idealistic,” she continues, “considering we are a store and our primary concern should be generating profits from all the titles in our offering. Game preservation goes beyond financial gain for us and by bringing old games back to life we aim to stay true to our roots and recapture the spirit of our early days with games when we were children. For most of us, these old games played a crucial role in shaping our identities. We strive to extend this opportunity to the younger generations of gamers, whose gaming experiences differ significantly, allowing them to experience the same excitement we felt.”

“As long as this ambition is achieved, it’s perfectly acceptable even if it doesn’t yield immediate profits.”

The lawyers

This made me wonder about something else. Some of the releases on GOG have been modified to be playable on modern operating systems, but others have merely been packaged with DOSbox, and presented as is. This has caused some problems with games on the storefront, requiring a bit of finessing to get them working properly.

The example that still bothers me to this day is 1997’s Interstate ‘76. It’s a game that has a myriad of problems today that make it nearly unplayable. Even if you do get it running, physics are based on framerate, which makes a particular level impossible to complete. As a result, fans have had to step in and provide workarounds and fixes for the game. These haven’t been incorporated into the actual store release, so if you buy the game, you then have to dig for the fixes and implement them. If CD Projekt Red and GOG are passionate about these games, why release anything in this sort of state?

The answer was something I hadn’t even considered before.

“It depends on the specific contract provisions,” she explains. “In most cases, we do not possess the rights to modify the game build, and if bugs are reported, only the developers can address them. Our role here is to report any issues and offer technical support when necessary, but we cannot act independently to alter the game files. Of course, there are certain situations where we can implement fixes or perform deeper modifications to the game, but such arrangements are relatively rare.”

Oh, right. It’s always lawyers.

Source Port

This is also why GOG usually can’t incorporate fanmade source ports on their storefront. Duke Nukem 2, for example, has the fantastic Rigel Engine that allows the game to run natively on modern operating systems with a myriad of additional tweaks. But if GOG isn’t allowed to modify the game in any way, even if they had the fan’s permission to use the port, they wouldn’t be allowed to.

A major exception with this was the Daggerfall Unity - GOG Cut, which not only ports the game to the Unity Engine, but also implements a number of fan mods that make Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall more comfortable to play.

“Daggerfall Unity – GOG Cut was our passion project and we were very thrilled with its critical acclaim,” Jach-Jaki said. “In many ways, what the modding community does aligns with our mission – making games look and play better, regardless of their age. Mods can enhance the overall experience with games not only by fixing bugs, but also by offering diverse content and improving gameplay mechanics. We see them as a way to cater to various gamers’ preferences and we are eager to work closely with modders to facilitate the integration of their input into the games.”

I’m hoping we get more of that from the platform. At least now, there’s some precedence.

Dragon's horde

In recent years, GOG has slowed down a bit from its original mission of making old DOS games accessible again. More focus seems to be on modern titles. As Jach-Jaki puts it, “The vision for Good Old Games in 2008 was simple: bring back games from the pre-digital era of gaming. This provided us with plenty of fuel for many years. Fast forward 15 years, and we have 1600+ classic games (10Y+) which is roughly 20% of our catalog.”

“We want to be a store that invites modern games as well because, at the end of the day, it's about providing amazing games to our community and catering to various tastes and needs. Even better if we can do it DRM-free!”

It’s still pretty unfortunate that there are some games that may never get a re-release simply because of licensing issues. Even getting a game as historically important as Goldeneye 007 available on modern consoles took decades, and I feel we had to make a compromise as there were very few quality-of-life improvements in the releases we did get. Meanwhile, Activision and EA are sitting on piles of 007 titles that I doubt anyone would go to the trouble of re-releasing.

Jach-Jaki explains, “This is essentially why reviving classic games based on huge licenses (many of which are held by AAA publishers) is such a challenge. There are expired OST rights to consider, sometimes actor fees, product placements, or outdated credits content. All these factors, combined with the necessary involvement of legal teams, producers, and brand teams, make it a significant undertaking. It's a lot of work, not only for us but also for the publisher. Sometimes, as harsh as it sounds, however amazing it might be to restore a game, the opportunity cost does not add up.”

“There are plenty of games like this that will probably never be enjoyed by new generations again unless game preservation is taken seriously. This is precisely what we are here for!”

The future of retro

Finally, I asked if there were any games that Urszula Jach-Jaki personally wants to see preserved.

“There are many of them!” she said. “Allow me to be somewhat vague here and refrain from mentioning specific titles, but rest assured that we have major announcements pending regarding titles we've been diligently working on for an extended period. The classic games community has much to be excited about.”

“Let me also take this opportunity to express our gratitude to our fellow gamers for suggesting titles that should be revived and contributing to the growth of our community wishlist. While we may not be able to fulfill all the requests, we strive to release as many as possible.”

The post GOG’s Urszula Jach-Jaki discusses game preservation and the business of retro appeared first on Destructoid.

It's been an incredible year for gaming with a bit of something for everyone. One of the unexpected gems of 2023 is Jusant, a game by DON'T NOD.

The game doesn't ask you to do anything particularly complicated - there's a tower, and you're supposed to climb it. Proceed, and you'll find yourself on a delightful and occasionally challenging journey that manages to tell an emotional tale.

What is Jusant?

It's unlike anything else, though there are some games worth comparing it to if you're trying to figure out what you're getting yourself into. Much like Journey, Jusant offers a calm yet curiosity-piquing atmosphere, and while you're not always certain where you're going and why, the promise of solving mysteries motivates you to keep moving forward.

You'll also find Jusant familiar if you've played Death Stranding, as your main rival is the landscape, and gameplay is almost entirely composed of traversal. Lastly, like Team Ico games, Jusant relies on environmental storytelling to tell its cryptic tale.

It's a relatively short game that can be completed in an afternoon or two though it's engaging enough to have you wishing for a sequel as soon as you're done. To help you climb up the tower, you have rope, some pitons, and an adorable sidekick that's able to affect your environment in useful ways. Climbing is a matter of finding the right pathways to progress, which occasionally requires a little out-of-the-box thinking.

It's a gorgeous game with relaxing gameplay that'll put a smile on your face. As you ascend, you'll be treated to breathtaking views and beautiful environments that feature aesthetically pleasing use of light. Thanks to a recent accessibility update, more players than ever can access this title. The update brings several accessibility options including a simplified climbing mode and colorblindness settings.

Sitting down with Jusant's art director

I recently got the chance to interview Jusant art director Edouard Caplain. We covered several topics, including the inspiration behind the game, how it has been received, as well as how it fits into DON'T NOD's body of work.

Destructoid: Jusant has a very distinct art style, featuring simple, rounded shapes, bright colors, and smooth textures. What was the inspiration for this art style?

Caplain: It’s something I've always been keen to try. Working with almost flat colors, shapes, and lighting works very well in painting, but having this translated in 3D is another story. The art team behind INSIDE did it very well, it looked fantastic. Jusant has this distinctive climbing gameplay where the goal is to ‘read’ the walls and find where the grips are. So, relying on 3D shapes – like real climbers do – felt right.

And the colors, along with the music, aim to bring the positivity and oneirism that we wanted the player to feel throughout the game.

Destructoid: The game’s story unfolds through environmental storytelling, as well as notes left lying around. Were there any challenges working with this minimalist storytelling style?

Caplain: It was definitely a challenge, as devs coming from the Life is Strange series we are used to relying heavily on dialogues to convey our stories. But for Jusant we wanted to make a game less grounded in our reality, something almost dreamy - where everything didn’t need to be explained.

So we lost the dialogs, but we kept everything else that we did before: zen sequences in Life is Strange became the shells in Jusant where you listen to the sounds of the past for example, and the letters, cinematics, music, and of course the environment storytelling.

It’s a different approach as the player may not read any of the letters but it’s okay – it’s not mandatory. The game is made so you have a chill and meditative experience on a mysterious tower. It’s up to the player if they want to know more about the lore.

Destructoid: How did the idea for Jusant’s unique gameplay come about?

Caplain: The gameplay came first: the very first pitch for Jusant was about climbing a giant mysterious tower. Then after that came everything else.

The gameplay is a crucial part of Jusant, so finding the right balance between challenge and fluidity in the climbing, the use of the rope, the pitons, the interactions with the world, was important. Basically, all the gameplay bricks that are necessary to keep the player entertained on the big climb.

Destructoid: I found Jusant to be an incredibly meditative experience that managed to be engaging without causing frustration. What feelings were you trying to evoke with Jusant and why?

Caplain: Definitely this! One of our main inspirations was Journey, that we all really loved. Like Journey we tried to challenge the players enough to push them up the tower, and also give them the time to relax and feel the atmosphere. Something important was to let the player climb at their own pace.

Destructoid: The ending is weird yet hopeful, giving you and your water blob buddy a satisfying reward for your arduous climb. Did you intend for Jusant to be a hopeful game?

Caplain: We tried to, yes. The setting on paper could feel pessimistic: it’s a post-apocalyptic barren world that everybody left, and you’re climbing in the middle of the ruins of past civilizations.

But we tried to convey hope through nature. Nature has taken over this world again and the animals are roaming free. Your ballast companion interacts with this nature to help you climb up. The idea of connecting with nature to elevate yourself, and overcoming your challenges together, was important for us.

Destructoid: The game is quite different from the projects DON’T NOD has put out in the past. Was this an intentional choice, and did you draw from any past DON'T NOD titles during development?

Caplain: Jusant had to be a game with a narrative aspect, but DON’T NOD didn’t push us into doing another Life is Strange. And as a team we wanted to try something different, smaller, and gameplay oriented. But we did of course keep and use our experience in invoking emotion – through music, cinematics and environmental narrative – and designing singular environments to substantiate this smaller project.

Destructoid: Are there any ideas that never made it into the final cut?

Caplain: A couple of early ideas didn’t survive conception and preproduction, as they would raise too many questions or not fit into the narrative. For example, at one point, interactions with other humanoids were discussed. Another idea was to ride one of those big beetle-like creatures, but the idea was dropped in the end.

Destructoid: Jusant is an eccentric game, which comes with risks. Are you surprised by how well the game has been received?

Caplain: Yes, both surprised and very happy with the amount of interest the game has raised. We knew it was a singular project and thus complicated to market to the outside world. But DON’T NOD has been very supportive throughout its development and since launch – the amount of exposure we’ve had has been incredible. It lets us reach more players that we hope will see what we tried to achieve with Jusant.

Destructoid: Any plans for more stories within Jusant’s world?

Caplain: Nothing is planned yet but the lore we created is rich and there is definitely space for more games in this universe.

Jusant is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

The post Interview: Climbing the tower with Jusant’s art director appeared first on Destructoid.

It’s hard to get excited for a new Contra game. It has been a series with some excellent ups and severe downs. As a publisher, Konami doesn't seem to be the most discriminating when it comes to handing their properties to outside developers. However, the fact that Contra: Operation Galuga is being handled by the more reliable WayForward gives reason to be optimistic.

I was given a chance to talk to Operation Galuga’s director, Tomm Hulett. Unfortunately, my optimism has been dashed. My first question was the ever-important “What is the best Contra game?”

Hulett responded, “It's gotta be the NES original. The 16-bit games especially have some amazingly memorable moments, but when you want consistent run 'n' gun perfection, there's no surpassing original Contra (though we are trying, of course!)”

Tsk tsk. Everyone knows the correct answer is Contra: Hard Corps.

I’m joking, of course. While I love Contra: Hard Corps for its Treasure-esque variety and weirdness, the first NES Contra is a solid choice. It’s a terrific translation of the 1987 arcade original, but despite its more limited hardware, it’s better in most ways. There’s a mechanical feel to it that is just so satisfying, especially if you see it through without the “Konami Code.”

Contra: Operation Galuga isn’t even WayForward’s first experience with the license. In 2007, they handled Contra 4 for the Nintendo DS, which was well-received, even right here in primordial Destructoid.

For Operation Galuga, the series is going back to the beginning. According to Tomm Hulett, it’s a reboot of the series. It takes us back to the first game’s Galuga Island, “fighting a terrorist uprising before uncovering the true threat.” However, it’s not at all just a remake of the first title. Even when it comes to narrative, Hulett says, “There are a lot of new characters and plot details to flesh out what was originally very straightforward.”

The trailer that hit during the September 14 Nintendo Direct also depicts a mix of classic Contra standards. There’s a hill stage reminiscent of 1990’s Super C, as well as one with hangbars like in Contra 3: Alien Wars and Contra: Hard Corps. According to Hulett, “Gameplay wise, it's all new. Well, obviously there are returning elements — you're running, gunning, picking up Spread Shots, and so on. But we were not beholden to ‘well, let's keep this simpler because it's the first Contra’ or ‘we can't put that element in this stage because that's not what happened.’ There are original enemies and bosses, and the returning favorites will behave in new and exciting ways. Stage designs are completely new as well.”

Konami was a bit of a different company back then, however. These days, I don’t really know what to make of them. At all. I have no idea what’s going on with them, and I’m someone who watches pretty carefully. It sometimes seems like they just license their old properties to other studios. That feels like their current approach to Silent Hill, which is rather alarming.

That made me wonder how Contra: Operation Galuga happened. Do they just license to interested parties, or does Konami actively seek out partners? “Konami brought up the idea of WayForward returning to the series with the general guideline of it being classic 2D gameplay with modern 3D visuals,” Hulett explained. “WayForward pitched some gameplay concepts, and it was full steam ahead from there.”

Okay, but was Konami just selling door-to-door? According to Hulett, “Konami was very specific about the overall story. They actually developed a full universe bible before even approaching us. It has been a very collaborative process, with Konami and WF workshopping the story of Operation Galuga specifically and how that drives the stages you visit and encounters you have. In my understanding, Konami really values reestablishing Contra as a key brand for old and new players alike, so they were very involved in how characters look and the overall brand direction.”

“For the gameplay itself,” Hulett added, “they really let us at WF take the lead and develop concepts and encounters that we believed in. Obviously, there was some feedback and a lot of playtesting data, but they let us pursue our vision for the player's experience. Overall, it's been a great partnership!”

While the original story of Contra simply had Lance Bean and Bill Rizer as selectable characters, they’re maybe not as interesting as some of the later creations that became playable in the series. Specifically, I asked about that chances of seeing Fang or Sheena from Contra: Hard Corps.

“Several characters will join Bill and Lance on Galuga Island, and they become available as you progress through Story Mode,” Hulett replies. “We’ve revealed a few, like Ariana and Lucia, already! There may even be some unlockable characters if players put in the time.”

Fingers crossed. In the meantime, both Ariana and Lucia sport some interesting designs. I’m down. I just hope they’re playable in story mode. Story mode only allows two players, whereas arcade permits up to four players. I hope that’s not because they insist on Lance and Bill being the only canonical participants in Operation Galuga. Although I could understand why, that’s just no fun. Lance and Bill are like the sugar glaze, whereas everyone who has come since is more like buttercream frosting. I’ll take glaze only when there is no other option.

By my count, this is the first time WayForward has worked with Konami since 2012’s Silent Hill: Book of Memories. A lot has no doubt changed since then, so it left me wondering what the chances were that this could lead to WayForward taking on other licenses. My initial thought was Castlevania, but that’s hardly the only property I’d love to see a new game from. Ganbare Goemon, maybe? Or dare I dream and wonder if Rocket Knight Adventures might get resurrected? Tomm Hulett was, after all, the Producer on 2010’s Rocket Knight. He also is credited with scenario.

“From your mouth to Konami's ears!” Hulett replied. “I know exactly how I'd pick up from the ending of RK'10 so my fingers are firmly crossed. In the words of Sparkster, ‘Let's go!’”

For now, I’ve got my fingers crossed that Contra: Operation Galuga turns out to be a success. Considering the last console entry we saw in the series was, uh… questionable, we could certainly do with a win. WayForward did a stellar job with 2007’s Contra 4, so here’s hoping they can duplicate that success.

While we’re at it, is a port of Contra 4 too much to ask for?

Contra: Operation Galuga is coming to Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC sometime in early 2024. A physical version will come afterward.

The post WayForward’s Tomm Hulett talks Contra: Operation Galuga and working with Konami appeared first on Destructoid.

Like many video game hobbyists, I’ve had dreams of making a game of my own. Before I was even in high school, I had a binder full of designs for a game I had dreamt up, but I never really got the means to even attempt to make it. Programming has always bored me, and I tend to get frustrated with art. Even attempts at small projects to just motivate myself with some visible progress fizzled.

The closest I got was a brief stint writing for a game company. I co-wrote a game that is still unannounced and may, at this point, be canceled. I’m not sure. However, I got the gig at the lowest point of my life, and it gave me something to focus on. I’ve always wanted to return to doing it, but again, there’s a wall I have to climb over to make any progress.

Jordan Weisman is among those looking to make game development more accessible. Weisman was one of the founders of Virtual Worlds Entertainment and FASA Interactive, responsible for the creation of the Battletech and Shadowrun series. He later returned to Shadowrun when he created Harebrained Schemes to help with the creation of Shadowrun Returns and the sequels that followed. After that was acquired by Paradox, he moved on. Now, his latest endeavor, Endless Adventures Inc., is set to release Adventure Forge later this year. Promising “No-code, no Limits, only imagination required,” it’s a platform to allow anyone to get their feet wet with game design.

Mr. Weisman and his business partner, David Reid, sat with me to discuss the upcoming toolset, as well as address my concerns about its use of generative AI.

The goal of Adventure Forge is “to create a toolset that allows storytellers, writers, artists, and designers to create narratively-focused video games without any coding or scripting necessary,” Weisman explained. They’ve spent “many years of tinkering trying to find authoring paradigms that enabled very rich, sophisticated logic for narrative games.” That led them to “a system of highly contextual, auto-populated drop-down menus so that you can create very sophisticated logic but never get syntax wrong.”

Weismann explained that the driving force behind it was years of creating interactive experiences, including both digital and tabletop games. “The part that brings the biggest smiles to my face are the stories that players told me, rather than the ones I told them,” he explained. “In video games, I never really felt that we were able to offer that level of creativity to players. To people who wanted to tell stories and make games.”

He further elaborated and said that he hoped to see more diverse voices making games and telling stories. “For the most part, we’re still in an industry where it’s old white guys like me who are telling stories. The entire universe plays games, and the entire universe is not old and white.”

“My other hope is that we also see a lot more innovation in narrative game design. Even those of us who have the privilege of having development teams available to us to create games, we don’t get that much time to really play with new ideas because it’s expensive. I write a design doc, send it to engineering, engineering sends it back to me, it sucks (because everything I design sucks the first ten times). That loop is slow and expensive. Your time for real innovation is relatively narrow. So, selfishly I also wanted a tool that allowed me to just screw around and try different things. Try to shorten that loop.”

The plan for Adventure Forge is that it won’t just be a toolset but also a platform. In order to share and play content, you’ll need the application itself. Its target platforms are Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Chrome.

The reason for the limitation is, as Weisman puts it, “Sometimes art, specifically narrative art, isn’t meant to be shared with the whole world. It might be a very personal story.” So, the platform will allow you to control how it's shared, whether it’s with the whole community or just a select group of friends.

Currently, the plan isn’t to allow you to publish your creations externally from the app. However, Weisman says, “The premise is to see what games start getting traction with people and then reach out to those creators and work with them to move it into a standalone application that will be available in app stores to expose their great work to an even larger audience.

All this empowerment for solo developers comes at the price of Adventure Forge’s integrated generative AI. Behind those contextual menus is an LLM, and it goes beyond that. One of the touted features of the platform is that if you can’t find a premade asset for something you need within the extensive list of items provided, you can have the AI create one for you, replicating the art style and perspective. It can also generate written text based on the context given, so it might handle the environment descriptions for you.

AI – or rather, what industry backers are pushing as AI – is an extremely nuanced topic of debate. Procedural creation has been part of the industry since the beginning before video games even migrated off of huge mainframe computers. Game engines have long integrated tools to make certain processes of game design easier or even automated. Generative AI might be seen as the next step in this, or even a step too far. There are facets of it leaking into every form of media, and creative people are rightfully afraid of being devalued further in a world where people already seem to believe art should be free.

“The way we view generative content creation is as an author-facing tool, not player-facing content,” Weisman explains. “For us, the most important thing is that the designer/artist/writer/creator of the experience is in control of the experience. That they can guarantee that their creative intent is coming across to the player.” Further, he explains that attempts to use chatbots to supplement the characters and story just don’t provide the desired result. A carrot that is currently being chased by some other big publishers.

Instead, you can get writing prompts from the LLM based on what you’ve written previously. Weisman says, “It’s just text for you to manipulate. For myself, maybe 5% of the actual words that the language model made may end up in something I’m working on. But often, I find that it's blathering of some tropes out will inspire me quicker than if I were just staring at the blank prompt.” He describes it as “the super-next generation of predictive text that we’ve had in our word generators and our emails for quite some time.”

Using generative AI is a bit of a tightrope walk, to put it lightly. The crew at Endless Adventures are being careful with how they approach it, but I still have conflicted feelings on the matter. It’s important to keep in mind that learning to be a traditional solo developer is not impossible. There are a lot of people from different backgrounds who have taken the dive and met with success. The truly hard part of the ordeal is getting your work noticed. This would be even more difficult to navigate if marketplaces were packed full of quick, low-effort AI-generated projects.

“I think there are many axises to this challenge. To me, even in a big team, players want to play something created by a human that has the thought process of a human," said Weismann. "The human condition that they’re bringing to that story that makes it interesting and relatable. To me, it’s a matter of if they can use those tools in a controlled enough environment to get that creative intent across in a real and cohesive way and develop a style that is going to make each game look unique. Because games need to look unique to stand out in the marketplace. You can’t have your game look like everyone else's.”

David Reid added, “AI is really good at looking backward and building things that humans have thought of doing already. But if you make a game solely on AI, the only things that will play it is AI. Humans will find them very dull and uninteresting. Really, what we’re trying to do with Adventure Forge is unleashing the creativity of people who have been unable to turn the stories and ideas they have into full-fledged interactive games. AI is a tool for that.”

“A lot of entertainment is pattern-driven,” Weisman explains. “Patterns will always have a place in entertainment. One of the things when I lecture that I talk about with designers is that you have to establish the familiar in order for your audience to appreciate the exotic. And the familiar is patterns. Things that we’re used to in our world and our own life experience. And then the human element is how to find the interesting twist. That’s the part that I don’t see a computer coming up with soon.”

That’s pretty optimistic. In my experience, humans have an insatiable appetite for the familiar that seems to get more and more overwhelming as the years go by. There’s often a pop where we get tired, and suddenly, super-hero movies aren’t getting the same traction, but I don’t think that results in seeking something unique. There’s usually a holding pattern while we seek the next trend that the masses cling to.

Generative AI and LLM are inevitably going to find a place. If we’re lucky, it will be as Endless Adventures envisions it, and creative people will be empowered to create more. The general fear is that there will be fewer places where creativity has value because AI has filled them all faster, cheaper, and without complaint. It’s hard to have your voice heard over the din of so many robots.

In the Shadowrun universe, one of the first sentient AIs developed took over a large arcology, locked the doors, and killed most of the inhabitants in what’s known as the Renraku Arcology Shutdown. It’s a good read, but with the way AI has been applied to non-sentient programs that browse data to generate content based on patterns, it’s more likely that our world’s AI is just going to suck all the flavor off the bones of the world than destroy us all. Such a shame.

There’s a lot more to discuss on generative AI, but I find the whole debate so tiresome. From this conversation, I’m at least convinced that Jordan Weismann is doing what he’s always done; attempting to empower people to tell stories. There doesn’t seem to be anything malicious about Adventure Forge’s approach, and he’s spent a good amount of time considering the potential issues of AI and weighing them. He sees value in pursuing it.

I’m generally on the mixed-to-negative side. As I’ve said, games have used procedurally generated content as far back as 1980’s Rogue. The first two games in the Elder Scrolls series used it to craft their worlds (which were so terrible that they never did it again after that). So, maybe it’s, as Weisman says, and that as long as there’s a human behind the wheel, generative AI can be more of a tool than a crappier substitute for creativity.

At the time of this interview, Adventure Forge was expecting to enter its beta period this Fall. It could still happen, but I haven’t heard anything since, so we’ll have to wait and see.

The post Shadowrun creator Jordan Weisman talks Adventure Forge and its use of generative AI appeared first on Destructoid.

Based on what we've seen so far, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth looks similar to Final Fantasy 7 Remake. However, it also appears to hide subtle refinements underneath the surface that may make it a substantially different experience. And according to game director Naoki Hamaguchi, it seems this vibe is, indeed, by design.

Last month, I had the opportunity to play Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth for myself. While I gave my honest thoughts about what I saw during that demo, the experience left me deeply curious about Rebirth's adherence to the original formula and what pieces would deviate. Fortunately, I didn't have to leave every curiosity unfulfilled, and I was provided the opportunity to email a few questions directly to the game's development team, which Hamaguchi himself kindly answered.

Below, you'll find our full exchange, which includes insight into how the game will approach both its evolved combat system as well as its new story. Also, there's a line about Zack that I can't get out of my head. Enjoy!

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This has an impact on the battle system and the entire game experience in the field, so even if elements appear similar to the previous game, they have been adjusted, expanded, and are therefore not the same. Rather than forcing the game to be carried over and creating discrepancies in the gameplay experience for each player, we decided that it would be better for all users to be able to enjoy the game in the same state, which would result in a new and fresh experience for everyone. Of course, we’ve heard a wide range of opinions and feedback from users, but we’ve also put tremendous effort into creating an experience that will satisfy many fans, and hope those decisions will be received well.

Although turn-based strategy certainly still has its appeal, I believe that this trend of high-end games pursuing more realistic, real-time control functionality will not change in the future.

For the current title, we’ve given more latitude to action-based strategies and designed the game to allow a variety of playstyles. From there, further suggestions were made by the battle director, Endo. Following his suggestions, large adjustments were made to existing characters, and the changes made to Aerith were a result of this process.

With Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, players will get to explore more open-ended fields and pursue optional objectives. How did you decide on what kinds of sidequests to include in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth?

Final Fantasy VII has a history of surprising players. For example, I can still remember first seeing that there was an entire world outside Midgar when I first played Final Fantasy VII on PlayStation. Meanwhile, Final Fantasy VII Remake took a new direction with its story that gave new meaning to the word “Remake.” Is there an aspect of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth that you hope similarly surprises fans? No spoilers, of course!

The FINAL FANTASY VII remake project titles, including FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH, were developed with two ideas in mind, in terms of their core appeal. The first is re-creating what could not be expressed in the original FFVII, using modern techniques to make the audience aware of things they previously didn’t notice, therefore providing an element of fresh surprise. In the demo, the personality of young Cloud during the Nibelheim flashback was received incredibly well by fans and media alike, and similar to that, we've put in a lot of care to re-create certain scenes with increased realism, which allows for additional layers of discovery without changing the fundamental experience of those scenes.

The second are the deviations from the original game. Overall, we wanted the player to follow the familiarity of how this game progresses in the same way as the original, while still picking up on subtle differences in certain details, which are meant to keep the player on the edge of their seats, speculating what those deviations might mean for the story’s climax. In the previous title, the Whispers played this narrative role, whereas this time around, Zack also joins in. He will certainly entertain and wrangle the player in the best way possible.

Both of these two elements are scattered all throughout FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH, and will surely provide many surprises for fans.

What would you like to say to fans looking forward to the release of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth?

After a four-year wait, we are proud to present to you FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH, which has evolved even further from the previous title with its explorative world map, enhanced battle system with synergistic attacks, and storytelling that keeps you guessing as to what will happen next. The game will be released Feb. 29, and we look forward to seeing it in the hands of many people.

Once again, thank you for your time!

As Hamaguchi said himself, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth launches on PlayStation 5 on February 29.

The post Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director talks action combat and getting wrangled by Zack appeared first on Destructoid.

At this point, it's safe to say that people are ready for The Elder Scrolls 6. While we're likely still years away from playing it, it feels as though Bethesda will start putting more stock into the Skyrim follow-up now that Starfield is out.

With that in-mind, a recent interview with MinnMax suggests that some elements from previous TES games will make their way into the sixth installment. Former Bethesda employee Bruce Nesmith – who was lead designer for Skyrim – has said that elements that go as far back as Oblivion could be "further developed" for The Elder Scrolls 6.

That particular part of the interview begins around the one-hour 13-minute mark.

However, Nesmith is not certain what these aspects will be. He does add that we will find his "fingerprints" in the next installment based on how the games have been designed in the past and his impact on the series.

It's a kind of magic

Nesmith then goes on to say that TES6 will likely have traces of the magical elements from Skyrim. So if you like the magic system in TES5, that's something to perhaps look forward to (maybe).

Bruce had been involved with the Elder Scrolls franchise since 1996's Daggerfall, eventually becoming Senior Game Designer for Bethesda. He was also a quest designer for Fallout 3. If you've played a Bethesda RPG since the mid-90s, you'll have experienced Nesmith's input. These days, he's a fantasy novelist. His first novel, Mischief Maker: Norse Mythology Reimagined, was released in 2021.

As for The Elder Scrolls 6, we're still pretty much in the dark. Nesmith's comments seem largely speculative, so it's best not to take what he says as the final word in what the elusive Skyrim follow-up will be like.

The post Former Skyrim designer says his “fingerprints” will be on The Elder Scrolls 6 appeared first on Destructoid.

When looking at the breadth of war games out there, the ones that inspire players to buy, paint, and field massive armies in skirmishes with each other, few names loom quite so large as Warhammer 40,000. But with Rogue Trader, Owlcat Games is giving the 40K universe a slightly different treatment. And to me, they look like the right studio to do it.

I’ve been a digital admirer of the WH40K realm for a while, thanks to the Dawn of War series. A real-time strategy game just makes sense for the world of Warhammer 40,000, as its tabletop version already inspires devotion to the little dudes you send off to battle against Orks, Necrons, and heresy. But how do you translate that to a more narrative CRPG approach?

The answer Owlcat Games has come up with is Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, an RPG that manages to meld the worlds of role-playing and tactical sci-fi carnage into something that, honestly, seems like it just might work. I recently got a chance to sit down and play a new build of the currently in-beta RPG and chat with creative director Alexander Mishulin about their approach to building Rogue Trader.

A classic legacy

If you’re not familiar with Owlcat, the studio has been steadily on the rise in the CRPG space. The team has tackled another tabletop property twice now, with Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Wrath of the Righteous, each time to increasingly positive response. Though Warhammer 40,000 is a decidedly different kind of universe, Owlcat wants to keep its approach the same.

“We really want our games to focus on choices and consequences and reactions,” Mishulin tells me.

In Rogue Trader, you play as just that: a Rogue Trader, given relative freedom to search for discoveries and profits. In the world of 40K, it’s a clever choice; a Space Marine may not have so much freedom for role-playing, but through a Rogue Trader, you can make choices and determine outcomes independent of any restrictions. You can adhere to the Imperium’s will, and preach the word of the God Emperor. Or, maybe, indulge in a little heresy.

Mishulin tells me companions will react in kind, and possibly even turn on you depending on your choices. But that’s a big part of the appeal, for me at least; the nature of Rogue Trader lets Owlcat smash together factions and forces that might normally be at each other's throats. Heck, they might still be there, but have to play nice around you.

The Rogue Trader aspect also opens up some interesting avenues for role-playing. On top of being an explorer and adventurer, you’re also a merchant. That means managing a ship full of goods and, occasionally, playing diplomat. Mishulin described to me a situation where another party member might seek my Trader’s help in gaining some permits, and that the player’s Trader might have various ways of approaching this bureaucratic issue.

It can lead to funny moments, but also interesting choices as you begin to choose sides and push relationships to a potential breaking point. Those who played Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous know that Owlcat has no qualms about letting you veer down a dark path. It sounds like with Rogue Trader, that isn’t changing.

“What we are trying to bring, to channel, is our narrative experience and the way we construct our stories, with binary choices that are usually left out,” said Mishulin. “We are trying to allow you to play any possible side. Of course, not like any interaction or just killing any character in the game, but allowing you to evil or good, or to dabble in heresy or be loyal to the Imperium, or try to save everybody and see what happens in Warhammer 40K when they try to do that.”

As Mishulin explains, it’s very important to Owlcat that you be able to roleplay in their game. But role-playing is one piece of the pie. Where WH40K starts to look a bit more familiar is in Rogue Trader’s combat.

Squares and corners

Previous Owlcat Games projects, or at least their Pathfinder ones, adhered to a real-time approach with a turn-based option available. The option was nice, but as Mishulin tells me, the turn-based option felt “a little bit secondary” to real-time combat. There were different areas they wanted to explore with Rogue Trader.

So, in Rogue Trader, combat is exclusively turn-based. It uses a grid system that maps out onto the world, and will probably feel familiar to anyone who’s played something like XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

“It’s not like we’re building up on our experience, but we are branching out a little bit and trying to, this time around, to make very interesting turn-based combat, nut based on our strengths,” Mishulin says. “Like a lot of abilities, a lot of combinations between the characters and deep build complexity.”

Builds may not get as wildly complex as Pathfinder’s 26 classes, but a big part of Rogue Trader seems to be the way characters can interact.

Take, for example, the ability to define stratagems on the field. Mishulin showed me how you can designate certain areas of the field as specific areas of battle, like Assault or Blitz, to add bonuses for allies in the area. Using these tools, he could quickly map out a battle plan on the first turn and start to execute it, or counteract the enemy’s formation.

Adapting fast is key, as Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader looks quite capable of being brutal at times. Hits can do a lot of damage. Enemies can shatter fast, but so can you. And, in a very interesting move, bullets are all tracked as their own object. If you spray fire down a corridor, there will be spread, and you could hit anything from objects behind your target to your own allies.

“It builds the physicality of the space,” Mishulin tells me about their combat. “Warhammer is dark and gloomy and visceral. And we wanted to convey this throughout the whole game and mechanics as well. And when bullets start flying, it adds to that.”

Yet the myriad numbers, abilities, synergies, and systems all seem crunchy and enticing for someone looking to play tactician in the WH40K universe. In a way, it marries in the strengths of the war-gaming side of 40K and attaches it onto the RPG potential; build your party and manage them outside of combat, then see how they synergize and refine in battle.

The far reaches of space

When talking about Owlcat, it’s easy to draw comparisons to fellow burgeoning CRPG studio Larian, who just had a home-run hit with Baldur’s Gate 3. And I only bring this up because Owlcat finds itself in a similar situation: building up year-over-year on its RPG systems, now stepping up to the plate with a massive tabletop franchise.

And so far, I think Owlcat is doing a solid job. I’m keen to see a bit more of the role-playing side; my demo primarily focused on combat and tactics, showing off a new Aeldari party member. That side of Rogue Trader looks solid so far, as I was already drawn into the gritty but well-paced turn-based combat.
If Owlcat can lock down the storytelling side too, Rogue Trader could continue their upward trajectory. Especially as more players are now getting into this style of RPG, the timing seems ripe for Owlcat Games to make a mark. We won’t be waiting long to see whether it does either, as Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader officially launches on December 7, 2023.

The post Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is crunchy, brutal, and one to watch appeared first on Destructoid.

In an interview with GameSpot, World of Warcraft Game Director Ion Hazzikostas hinted that another old-world revamp of Azeroth is "likely to happen". The last time this happened was the 2010 WoW expansion Cataclysm. According to Hazzikostas, the development team would learn lessons from Cataclysm which got a lot of negative criticism for deleting parts of the 2004-era WoW that many players loved. The goal would be to use modern solutions to preserve currently existing pieces of the game.

"We are definitely open to it at some point," Hazzikostas told GameSpot. "It is a shortcoming, if you take a step back and think about World of Warcraft as an ongoing living world, if we've kind of painted ourselves into a corner where we have all these iconic locations but we can't really use them because they've already been used."

Even though not everyone likes this sort of change, it's definitely an understandable situation for WoW. The popular MMORPG turns 20 next year and much of the current game world exists on old technology and assets. However, with the popularity of World of Warcraft: Classic, it's easy to understand why the hesitance is there. Even though the two games run separately from each other, a part of the player base prefers the old content.

[caption id="attachment_403050" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

New expansion on the horizon

Blizzard revealed the final update of the current expansion World of Warcraft: Dragonflight yesterday. The update will pave the way for the next WoW expansion which may get a reveal at BlizzCon 2023. The event takes place November 3-4 and the announcement is expected to come in the opening ceremony. Even though Hazzikostas didn't confirm when the revamp will happen, we could see it as soon as this next expansion. However, it's also possible we see the start of the revamp, but not the entire thing. The complete overhaul could take place over the course of the expansion or even several expansions.

Dragonflight has been one of the better expansions recently, so hopefully the new expansion builds upon it. Legendary writer Chris Metzen, one of the original creators of Warcraft, recently returned to Blizzard. Hopefully, he's a large part of the creative process and can help build upon the positives of Dragonflight.

Looking back, Cataclysm was definitely not the greatest expansion. Other than visually, the world revamp felt like a downgrade as opposed to an upgrade in many ways. I wouldn't mind seeing a more modern take on a complete overhaul though, using what Blizzard has learned over the last 20 years.

The post Blizzard hints another Catacylsm-style world revamp may be coming to World of Warcraft appeared first on Destructoid.

Once the hype around Starfield dies down a bit, discussion will once again turn to the next Elder Scrolls game. Nearly twelve years after Skyrim, the next installment is now finally said to be in the early stages of development. As such, Xbox head Phil Spencer has been asked whether the elusive RPG will be an Xbox exclusive.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg Technology, Spencer is asked a question about exclusivity. In particular, journalist Caroline Hyde is curious about what platforms The Elder Scrolls 6 may be on. Spencer answers by saying that the company looks at things "on a case-by-case basis."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-yYmq35E3I&t=83s

He adds that Xbox wants to make sure that the games made by the studio are "available in many different places." However, he specifically mentions the Xbox consoles, PC, and "via cloud," with no mention of any other platforms.

Too early to say, really

It kind of sounds like Spencer is circling the bit when it comes to The Elder Scrolls 6 and potential exclusivity. Consider that Starfield being an Xbox Series and PC game only seems to be working out nicely for the tech giant.

As such, it's not above the realm of possibility that Xbox may keep Skyrim's follow-up for its own platforms. However, we can't say for certain, but Spencer's response to the question does seem rather vague.

As for when it's actually coming out, speculations suggest it might be another five years until we see TES6. By that point, we'll be on the next generation of consoles anyway. Great. More money to spend.

The post Phil Spencer asked about Elder Scrolls 6 exclusivity, gives vague response appeared first on Destructoid.

Among all this Starfield talk, it's easy to forget that The Elder Scrolls 6 is even a thing (maybe). It's been five years since we were treated to a brief tease of the next installment in Bethesda's flagship series, and the face of the studio seems to regret being too hasty with things.

In a recent interview with GQ, Mr. Skyrim himself, Todd Howard, says he me have been a bit too quick to announce TES6, adding, "I probably would've announced it more casually."

https://youtu.be/OkFdqqyI8y4

Of course, the interviewer asks whether Howard can divulge any further details about The Elder Scrolls 6. Naturally, the director isn't saying anything, though he does say that the upcoming RPG does have a codename. He also says that he and the team want the next TES game to "fill that role of the ultimate fantasy-world simulator."

So when is it co-

When's it coming out, I hear you ask? Again, nobody can really say. As a sidenote, Howard does make a comment about how he wants to keep making games, with no plans to retire any time soon. He even likens his career path to Nintendo's own Shigeru Miyamoto, who's now in his early 70s.

It's at this point that the GQ interviewer offers their own speculation, saying that The Elder Scrolls 6 may not be out until Todd Howard reaches 60. Given that his Wikipedia page has him down as being either 52 or 53, this means TES6 might still be a good seven or eight years off.

Obviously, that's just speculation. Although recent rumors suggest the long-awaited follow-up to Skyrim might be at least five years away. In any case, Bethesda definitely seemed to have done itself a disservice by announcing it so soon.

The post Todd Howard wishes he’d announced Elder Scrolls 6 ‘more casually’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Every mission in Armored Core VI  Fires of Rubicon throws something new at you. Whether it be a special scenario, challenging objective, strong enemy pilots, or a gigantic colossus, evolving and adapting is key.

We recently got some hands-on time with Armored Core VI ahead of its August release, along with the chance to speak to the developers behind it. And as director Masaru Yamamura puts it, building the Armored Core (or AC) you pilot is a key place FromSoftware built upon.

"This has always been a staple of the series, and it’s always been a part of Armored Core’s identity," said Yamamura in a roundtable interview. "So we wanted to see what that would look like in a modern-day AC. We felt like that was an element that could translate very well, even in a modern day game and a modern day mech game. So we kind of used that as the impetus for this project."

[caption id="attachment_393344" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Bandai Namco[/caption]

Players can observe this in many places. While Yamamura notes that different parts have usually denoted different stats or parameters, the team wanted choices in the garage to be felt in the game. "For instance, if you change up the leg types, you get a very different feeling mech or mobility system," Yamamura explains.

In my own experience, I saw how different loadouts could deal with different challenges. Where some missions with swarms of smaller enemies meant dual-guns were effective, I gravitated towards the sword in one-on-one duels with other ACs. It's all about the right tool for the right job.

Hitting the garage

Customization isn't just about guns and parts, though. Past Armored Core games have let the player customize to a degree. But there are some bells and whistles FromSoftware included for Armored Core VI that get pretty interesting: texturing, weathering, even the reflection of a particular piece.

While I spent some time blowing up enemy ACs, I also fooled around a bit with the custom mech creator. I made an EVA Unit-01 mock-up, as well as an Optimus Prime and Gundam-inspired look. (I sadly didn't have capture on hand, but trust me when I say: they looked great.) It was really fun to see just how in-depth and creative these tools were, for making a mech of my own.

[caption id="attachment_393345" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Bandai Namco[/caption]

"So in this sense, we hope that players will be able to depict their ideal AC," said Yamamura. The director hoped players would be able to "bring their mech fantasy into the game" and showcase it.

Corporate backing

When it comes to the parts in Armored Core VI, I did ask whether there were any outside inspirations on the new designs. Of course, series like Gundam got mentioned. But more importantly, FromSoftware looked toward its own world for inspiration.

The world of Armored Core VI is embroiled in a corporate war for control of Rubicon. Those companies develop weapons and field their own forces, and when thinking of what new parts might be in play, Yamamura says the team looked at the corporations' backgrounds.

[caption id="attachment_393342" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Bandai Namco[/caption]

"We wanted to study the backgrounds of those corporations and factions and figure out what they prioritize, and what they develop," said Yamamura. "Maybe like, where they originated, in their sort of company development. And then what that would look like in terms of parts, and how you identify each corporation based on its parts."

Idiosyncrasies

Of course, I did ask Yamamura and producer Yasunori Ogura what their own mech loadouts would be, were they to duel at that very moment. Yamamura opted for a double Gatling gun approach, with a missile launcher and cannon. Ogura went for a rapid-fire ballistic weapon in one hand, high-impact bazooka in another, with a couple of plasma rifles for good measure.

"This is part of the fun of AC," said Ogura. "Is sharing your own idiosyncrasies with other players."

Armored Core VI  Fires of Rubicon arrives on August 2, 2023.

_{Travel for this event was provided by the publisher.}

The post Armored Core 6 devs share how assembly lies at the core of the mech action appeared first on Destructoid.

How to find new life in space again

Citizen Sleeper was one of the biggest surprises of last year for me. It was a stellar combination of virtual and tabletop mechanics in a gorgeous, distant space setting that drew me in and quickly became a favorite. So when Citizen Sleeper 2 appeared out of the blue, you can imagine how eager I was to hear more about it.

The first game follows a rogue, copied consciousness on the run, trying to avoid the hunters of their corporate overlords while attending to a steadily deteriorating body. It's a battle against planned obsolescence, in a cold station on the fringes of space. A place where a "Sleeper" like you could find a home, or at least a crossroads towards a new one. But following a series of DLC updates, Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector heads in a new direction. We talked to creator Gareth Damian Martin, of Jump Over The Age, to see just what that direction looks like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFOYaEQP9ks

Pushing your luck

To start, you're still a Sleeper. The corporate-owned android body is still your home. But, as seen in the trailer above, your relationship with a critical chemical compound called "Stabilizer," necessary for survival in the first game, has changed. In Citizen Sleeper 2, an attempt to free yourself from dependence on Stabilizer has left your body malfunctioning. So you steal a ship and head on the run, with a body on the fritz and a price on your head.

As Martin puts it, you no longer have a declining body, but a malfunctioning one. "The distinction being that it's no longer predictable," they said. "It's no longer like, 'Well I know tomorrow, I'm going to be a little worse off.' It's much more of a push-your-luck situation, where the more that you push your body, the more likely it is that you're going to suffer a malfunction, but it's not a guarantee."

[caption id="attachment_392347" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Jump Over The Age[/caption]

This idea of pushing luck is an interesting one. It's something you can see in tabletop games like Blades in the Dark—an influence behind the first Citizen Sleeper. These gambits can pay off, and the resources can be both bountiful and crucial to survival. However, they may come with a cost. Martin points towards a feeling of being "on the edge" of being overwhelmed, and the stories that can come from that.

"That’s always my kind of endpoint, is just thinking about, what’s the narrative like," said Martin. "I don’t really care about the mechanics on their own. I’m interested in how they will serve and drive interesting narrative outcomes, where there’s not really a kind of pure success on offer. There’s instead just a series of compromises and variations."

A stressed-out Sleeper

If you map out a typical Citizen Sleeper run as a line graph, you'd see continuous dips and sudden spikes back to full. That rocky, alpine road of upkeep is what keeps the dice flowing in, and dice are how you get things done every day.

Citizen Sleeper 2 will maintain a good chunk of those systems. There's still a three-level system of risk, depending on what kinds of dice you have to place down. There are still, right now, a number of dice every cycle that can decline based on your current status. But stress is a new factor. For a game where you're already on the run, that's a powerful motivating factor to keep moving forward—and to take the risks you might normally avoid.

“When the game is kind of about crisis, and about entropy, about fighting against things falling apart and what that takes, then something like stress is a really valuable concept and mechanic simultaneously,” Martin explained to me. “So that's kind of like, the big thing that unites Citizen Sleeper 2’s changes, really.”

[caption id="attachment_392348" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Jump Over The Age[/caption]

As you move through the system on your ship, you can pick up contracts. These can give you the resources you need to keep going. But you'll need to ensure they succeed, too. Having a crew, then, helps a lot. While you're talented, you can't be perfect at everything in Citizen Sleeper 2. Selecting a crew for your jobs can play a big role in them succeeding. Martin points to Into the Breach as a "guiding intent."

“I often think about Into the Breach as the apex of the game where you spend more time looking at the problem in front of you than you do actually clicking buttons,” said Martin. “And while I’m not making Into the Breach, and Citizen Sleeper wouldn’t kind of ever be able to reach that level just by design, that is still something that I take as a kind of guiding intent. I very much like to have the idea of players sat there, scrolling around, looking at what’s in front of them and being like, ‘Okay, how am I going to solve this cycle in the best possible way?’”

Squats in space

With that crew-involved story, Citizen Sleeper 2's influences may not be a tremendous surprise. Martin names series like Cowboy Bebop, Firefly, and Deep Space Nine. Particularly, Martin calls attention to the episodes of DS9 where the "plot engine" turns off, and we get to zoom in a bit more on the crew. Stories about the crew, and their interpersonal drama, can often stand out in ways we don't see often in games.

At least, not in the scrappy crew manner we do in Citizen Sleeper 2. Compared to Commander Shepard's "flying office building", as Martin puts it, the ship of CS2 is more like a "squat in space." All the NPCs have their own agency, too. They're people, who have their own drivers that are not always aligning with yours.

Making personnel choices—who you take with you on jobs, who you get along with, and who you let on the ship in the first place—seems like it could be a big differentiator for Citizen Sleeper 2. It certainly adds a unique twist to the interactions and relationships of the game, compared to its predecessor.

[caption id="attachment_392346" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Jump Over The Age[/caption]

But that's all in the future. Citizen Sleeper 2 doesn't have a release date at the moment; for now, it sounds like Martin wanted to let fans know it's in the works. That's alongside a lot of other CitSleep content too, like a solo tabletop game and Design Works book.

When it comes to the finished sequel, Martin looks forward to getting the players into trouble, it seems. That mix of narrow successes, of making it through but not without a mark, looks to carry forward. And now, you'll have a crew of characters to add into the mix.

“I’m hoping it will feel quite different to the kind of space games that people are used to playing,” said Martin. “But at the same time, will feel like a continuation of Citizen Sleeper’s ideas about freedom, ‘freedom’, in story, and meaning, and characters. Getting to be part of their story, whatever that means, even if that’s not necessarily even helping them, or enduring them, specifically. [laughs]”

The post Citizen Sleeper 2 interview: Using stress to take the story further into the stars appeared first on Destructoid.

One long night

2011’s Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective feels like it’s always been a bit of an oddball. The DS title was Ace Attorney director Shu Takumi’s shot to create something new, a “different kind of mystery” from the courtroom battles of Phoenix Wright and friends.

Though received well, sales seem mixed; it was a best-selling Nintendo DS game in Japan the week of its release, but Capcom would later note it struggled. All of this helped build, at least in my perception, a cult-classic vibe around it. It wasn’t the most popular DS game, but those in the know who dug the DS highly valued it.

So that's where we find Ghost Trick now, as it's getting a revival on modern consoles. A demo is currently available, containing the first two chapters. And alongside a chance to play that section a little early, we had the opportunity to chat with the development team behind the remaster. In correspondence with director Atsushi Maruyama, producer Shingo Izumi, and the original director Shu Takumi, we got to learn a little bit about how this all came about, what the challenges were, and what the team's hopes are for this new version of a cult classic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USeyaeClNhs

How did the pitch for a new Ghost Trick remaster come about? When did discussions first start, and what was the drive behind it?

Shingo Izumi: We are always discussing and considering what titles we can bring back. Within those discussions, I think talk of remastering Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective came about in the latter half of 2021. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a title that many have requested to be remastered, and many who have played it rate it very highly. We really wanted to give those who haven't been able to play it over these 13 years an opportunity to do so, and that was the reason we decided to re-release it. That's also the reason we are releasing the game on multiple platforms and have also added additional languages. 13 years have passed since Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective originally released, but it retains a universal appeal regardless of your age, country, or hardware you play it on, which is another large factor in our decision to re-release the game.

What were your goals for remastering Ghost Trick? How faithful did you want to stay to the original when updating aspects like the resolution?

Izumi: I really wanted to preserve that universal appeal that I previously mentioned. Since we are re-releasing the game on multiple platforms, I wanted to make sure that we achieved the same level of quality regardless of which hardware you play it on.

Atsushi Maruyama: My goal was to have the game converted to high definition so that a player would feel completely natural playing it today.

[caption id="attachment_386872" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Ghost Trick first launched on Nintendo DS with dual-screens, and then came to iOS, with touch-screen controls. With that in mind, were there any unexpected challenges in bringing Ghost Trick to a controller-driven platform? What kind of work did you do to adapt the gameplay, if so?

Maruyama: The biggest challenge was adjusting the user interface (UI) of the game. In this game, “where” and ”how” information is displayed has a large impact on the gameplay. Within that, a particularly difficult element was displaying information relating to the "trick" action. It's very important to understand whether you can trick an item after possessing it, and what you can do. We approached the design with the player's point of view in mind to create the UI that you see in the game.

How did it feel to go back to Ghost Trick now, 13 years after it first launched? Did anything in particular stick out to you while revisiting this work?

Shu Takumi: Of course, it was very nostalgic returning to the game 13 years later, but I still play Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective once every few years or so. Because of that, I still remember the content of the game very well. For this re-release, I supervised the rearrangement of the game's music. It was the first time I worked with Yasumasa Kitagawa since The Great Ace Attorney, and I also met again with the composer of the original game's music, Masakazu Sugimori, which was very nostalgic as well.

For the actual remaster of the game itself, I left it in the hands of the development team, and I was not directly involved. I'm looking forward to playing this refined version on a large screen alongside everyone else once it releases.

[caption id="attachment_386873" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

This remaster includes a new song from the original composer, Masakazu Sugimori. Why did the team want to include a new track, and what do you feel it brings to this new version of Ghost Trick?

Izumi: We wanted something that would be new even to those who've already played the Nintendo DS or iPhone version of the game, which is why we added a new song. The new song is titled "Ghost World" and just like the title, really captures the mysteriousness and atmosphere of the game. I hope you enjoy it!

Maruyama: To add to that, I think the new song does a great job of capturing the feeling of the Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective world and matches perfectly with the main art for this game. Listening to it makes you feel like you're experiencing the world of Ghost Trick even more.

[caption id="attachment_386874" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

After going back to Ghost Trick, is this something you’d be interested in continuing in the future? Do you feel like Ghost Trick is a one-off, or that it might be worth exploring more games like this?

Izumi: Right now, we are dedicating all we have to deliver Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective to as many players as possible, so we haven't had time to think about what we're going to do after that. But I hope the amount of people who play this game is large enough that it makes us want to consider a sequel!

The post Ghost Trick’s developers talk music, challenges, and how a cult classic got its revival appeared first on Destructoid.

Have you played Atari today?

Atari is a company that has almost always been mired in problems. Before the Atari VCS (2600) console even launched, founder Nolan Bushnell sold the business to Warner Communications, which fired him shortly thereafter. It’s traded hands throughout the years, eventually landing with Infogrames in 2000, who gradually rebranded to the Atari name before nearly becoming bankrupt in 2013. They restructured, sold off a number of assets, and managed to come out of bankruptcy.

Say what you will about the Atari Lynx and Jaguar platforms, but nothing is as bad as post-bankruptcy protection Atari. They oversaw such tragic releases as Haunted House: Cryptic Graves and Asteroids: Outpost. Atari’s business model also shifted heavily toward micro-monetized mobile games.

In 2021, when no one was looking, Wade Rosen took the helm of Atari as CEO. While there is much still to be seen as to whether he can gain back the goodwill of video game hobbyists, this is, perhaps, the first time in a long time that one can be optimistic about the direction of the company. Rosen was gracious enough to quench my curiosity by answering a few questions for Destructoid, and he’s joined by Larry Kuperman of Nightdive Studios, a recent acquisition by Atari.

[caption id="attachment_386595" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Atari[/caption]

The new face of Atari

“When I took on the role of CEO, one of my primary objectives was to establish a clear strategy for the business; one that would provide a solid base for our long-term success and one that would be true to our legacy,” Rosen explained. “Part of the transition we undertook involved exiting businesses that we did not think were core or made sense going forward. One of the areas we decided to exit was the casino business, and we have successfully unwound all of our casino-related partnerships.”

“Our business now has four focus areas: software, hardware, licensing, and web3. Atari is and will remain, a video game company, so our efforts across those four business areas are all to support that core gaming identity. We made a conscious decision to start making premium games again, and we have made continual progress towards that goal. We have published 12 new titles in the last 18 months, we have announced another four, and we have many more under development.”

Web3 is something of a nebulous concept of a future direction for the internet based around blockchain. It’s, um, not particularly well-loved by the video game community, to say the least. This is something that Rosen acknowledges.

“We can’t predict exactly how our web3 business will evolve,” Rosen explained, “but we have built a very smart team that has prioritized development in the areas of gaming, utility, and, most of all, community. We have strong partnerships in place with platforms such as The Sandbox, where we launched a massive, immersive brand experience. Most recently, the team launched a beta version of the Atari Club, which is designed as a community centered around all things Atari. The goal is to make the community accessible and inclusive to all of our fans. So after its initial rollout with our web3 audience, it will be expanded so that all of our fans can contribute, collect, and collaborate around our brand initiatives.”

“We know web3 remains controversial, especially within the gaming industry, but we think the underlying technology has long-term potential for companies that focus on the long-term benefits it can provide and do their best to sidestep short-term hype.”

[caption id="attachment_375703" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Atari[/caption]

Merchandising! Merchandising!

The announcement of Atari-themed hotels in 2020 raised some eyebrows. Since then, news has been quiet about that project. But while Atari may have backed out of the casino business, they're still moving forward with hotels.

“Our licensing business remains quite strong, and our goal is to enter only high-quality partnerships that can contribute to our brand awareness and satisfy our fans in a meaningful way. The Atari Hotel partnership you mentioned is one of those licensing deals, and we believe it has strong potential. By its nature, it has a very, very long timetable, and it will be many years before we see its impact.”

“We also have partnerships with LEGO, Cariuma, New Wave Toys, and several other high-quality brands, and we are exploring opportunities in media, including television and film. Like many large, successful pop-culture brands, we expect licensing to remain an integral part of our mix going forward.”

Licensing seems like something the Atari brand has never been far from. I think I owned an Atari t-shirt before ever even touching a 2600. However, their most recent moves seem more like they’re aimed at video game hobbyists rather than just brand nostalgia. The New Wave Toys partnership, for example, involves the creation of Replicade cabinets. These are playable miniaturized versions of classic arcade cabinets, and Missile Command has recently received the treatment.

[caption id="attachment_386593" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via MobyGames[/caption]

Back to the past

What fascinates me most about Atari’s recent movements, however, is their focus on game preservation. Last year, they purchased the game database, MobyGames. Meanwhile, their Atari 50 compilation has been acclaimed as one of the best classic game collections ever released.

“Preservation, and more specifically, innovation in retro gaming, is a priority for Atari,” Rosen said. “This is a topic I’m personally very passionate about. Video game history is a part of our DNA, and leveraging retro IP in interesting and futuristic ways is core to our business. There is so much amazing classic content, and giving fans a way to access not only the original content, but new content that iterates and expands upon the original, is what you can expect from us in the coming years.”

However, Atari isn’t unique in this approach. Game storefront GOG began as an effort to make old PC games available to modern platforms. I wonder about the profitability of this effort. MobyGames, specifically, has traded hands a few times over the years. Its previous owners, Simon Carless and Jeremiah Freyholtz were quite open with the community about the difficulties of managing the database and had to turn to Patreon to supplement income for development. So, I had to wonder what drove the choice for Atari to focus on preservation.

Rosen told me, “There is a huge community of retro game fans that seems to be growing every day. I believe it absolutely is a viable business and one that has significant growth potential. The beauty of retro is that it’s constantly being created and recreated. The PS3 is starting to be considered retro, and each year that passes, more modern games are being reclassified. In that sense, it is always growing, and the way people consume and access the content is ever-changing.”

[caption id="attachment_386580" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Atari[/caption]

The business of back catalog

Moreover, a number of companies are extremely leery about keeping their back catalogs available. Electronic Arts is one of the companies I point to as an example of one of the worst. They have games like The Sims or Black and White that are considered to be of historical importance, but despite having their own digital storefront, EA refuses to make these games available.

Usually, when larger publishers choose to release older games, they will often do so in a rather token way. Numerous old PC games are just bundled with DOSbox, and some Windows games aren’t updated to support modern hardware.

“I can’t speak to the decisions that other companies make as I don’t have any insight into their thought process. I can say that, for a while, re-releasing titles 'as-is' kind of worked,” Rosen explained. “It was a way for companies to make their back catalog widely available, and it scratched an itch for players. But studios like Nightdive have raised the bar, using their proprietary KEX engine to rebuild and improve the original games and add modern features, significantly improving the graphics, improving and expanding input control, and adding deep platform support, including social integration."

"Player expectations have changed, and what we are seeing is that companies that do have important game IP are turning to studios like Nightdive to bring them back to market in a way that players value. Based on the dedicated fanbase that Nightdive has built, that’s a significant advantage over more barebones releases.”

That’s actually a rather sober way to look at the approach. I may want every game to get the source port treatment, but that’s not always feasible. At the end of the day, as long as it runs well with minimal effort for setup on my part, that’s sufficient. Bonus points if it wasn’t originally released in English.

[caption id="attachment_386578" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Raising the bar

Nightdive wasn’t alone when it comes to raising the bar for modern re-releases, though. It's important to note that M2 and Digital Eclipse have been at it since the ‘90s, being responsible for many moves from arcade to console or handheld.

Wade Rosen goes on to say, “I think talented studios like M2 and Digital Eclipse are starting to get the recognition they deserve for their incredible work. Digital Eclipse, who we worked with to create Atari 50: the Anniversary Celebration, was recognized and praised by both players and industry professionals for their efforts.”

Nightdive is something special, however. Most of all, they seem to be better known among gamers themselves, whereas M2 and Digital Eclipse are more known to those more deeply intimate with the hobby.

Rosen explained, “Nightdive starts by working with retro titles that have an incredibly strong fan base and following. They’re games that resonate with players in a visceral way. Nightdive has also developed a style of remastering content that is unique and recognizable. For Nightdive, the goal is always to recapture the experience that people had when the game was new and "state of the art." The challenge is to create a game that is pleasing to new fans, while recapturing the original experience for older fans, and to remaster a game so that it ‘plays the way you remember it playing.’ That creates a unique experience where fans can look at a game and almost immediately know ‘that came from Nightdive.'”

Larry Kuperman, Director of Business Development at Nightdive added, “Nightdive has always drawn our talent from the modding and support communities. Samuel Villarreal, also known as ‘Kaiser’ in the Doom community, was a legend even before he joined Nightdive as our Lead Engine Developer. The same was true of a number of our other developers. That is one reason. And our founder at Nightdive, Stephen Kick, continues to maintain an active presence on social media, as I do to a lesser extent."

"We think it is important to have that direct connection with our fans.”

[caption id="attachment_386587" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Curation through source porting

Moreover, I appreciate Nightdive for introducing me to games I had previously missed. I had never heard of Strife until they released Strife: Veteran Edition, and I may have never played PowerSlave without PowerSlave: Exhumed. More than just a developer, I appreciate Nightdive for their curation.

I’m not alone, as Rosen put it more eloquently, “I personally came to Nightdive through their work on System Shock 2. Once I was done exploring the Von Braun it was a short jump to all of their other titles (Strife: Veteran Edition was also my first time playing Strife). If you like one of their games, you’re probably going to like the others. That kind of discoverability is part of the Nightdive magic: their releases have a broad, multigenerational appeal.”

Larry Kuperman responded, “I can’t tell you how often we hear similar stories. ‘I didn’t even know a certain game had ever existed until you brought it back.’ It really is inspiring to hear those things.”

“Interestingly enough, Strife: Veteran Edition was really important in the history of Nightdive. It was the first game that we were able to substantially improve, as opposed to our prior ‘just make it work on modern systems’ approach. Remember that this was very early in Nightdive’s growth. In order to improve on the original, we brought on James Haley, another member of the Doom community.”

I feel a bit of kinship here. I often say I got into writing about video games as a way of sharing my passion for the hobby. Though I haven't made any of the games I talk about, I love sharing them as though they’re a part of me. Kuperman’s explanation of it kind of makes it sound like what Nightdive tries to do. They’re sharing the games they’re passionate about by repackaging them.

https://youtu.be/VHIpL5Mz1JY

The retro boom

Another direction that Atari has been heading has been back into the realm of physical hardware. In 2021, they released the Atari VCS, which was an attempt at a modern console. The VCS started development in 2018 before Wade Rosen was CEO of the company. We didn’t really talk about this, but according to Axios, the platform has struggled to find its place. However, they’ve also recently started reproducing actual Atari 2600 cartridges as part of their Atari XP line-up.

I asked if there were plans to further develop such cartridges, specifically asking if there was any chance of new games being released in the format. Rosen told me, “Our Atari XP cartridge business started off small and experimental, and the reception has been quite positive. There is a demand for the simplicity and skill-gating of retro hardware and software. As a result, we’re exploring ways to bring more cartridges to market, and to make it easier to play those cartridges. Stay tuned.”

This was before they announced that they’d be releasing Mr. Run and Jump on a 2600 cartridge. However, the “easier to play those cartridges” comment is still curious. In the previously mentioned Axios interview, he also teased that they might be releasing new hardware. This sounds to me like we may be seeing a new console capable of playing 2600 games, which excites me greatly.

[caption id="attachment_386575" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Mobygames[/caption]

Going forward with retro

Atari has also been making moves toward acquiring the back catalogs of other publishers. Mostly, these have been titles that are adjacent to Atari, including ones that the company even previously owned.

I asked Rosen what games were even worth preserving. He told me, “All games are worth preserving. I think the differentiation comes in the degree of restoration. Will all games have the same level of details, or get as robust a restoration? Will all games be interpreted in new games? No. There isn’t enough time, development capacity, or probably interest to touch every game from the past 50 years and optimize them for modern hardware. But I think there should be legal ways to at least access all of the games from the past. Today we’re seeing companies focus on games and franchises that were popular, or somehow novel, because those have the most commercial potential. But as time goes on I believe there will be more opportunity to explore the deep cuts of the last 50 years, and I welcome that.”

I pushed a bit further, asking what games he’d like to see re-released. “I could answer this question all day, but I’ll limit myself to some of the games in our catalog. No doubt we will do something with Berzerk and Frenzy. Those games are just too seminal not to explore. Bubsy and Mr. Nutz are both franchises that have some creative depth and would be fun to work with. When the right concept comes along, we won’t hesitate to revisit Adventure. And the Yars universe, it has so many branches. We expanded that gameplay with Yars: Recharged, and going forward we’d like to advance that story and world. And then, of course, there’s Centipede, Asteroids, and Missile Command. That’s the best part about this job, there’s so much here to work with.”

“I think it would be a shame for Bubsy not to have some sort of collection to celebrate his colorful history (both the highs and the very lows).”

[caption id="attachment_386586" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Mobygames[/caption]

Hope to dream

If I can make a wish, it’s that Atari gets a hold of the back catalog of Midway and (the separate company) Atari Games. If I’m not mistaken, Warner Bros. currently have those rights, and outside of Mortal Kombat, have been doing nothing with them. Rampage, Ramparts, Smash TV; are all languishing in WB's assets. It’s disgusting.

I never really expected that there’d be a day when I’d start rooting for Atari. As I said in the opening, the company has been troubled for almost its entire existence, and some pretty heinous things have gone on under the name. However, it doesn’t sound like Wade Rosen is trying to ignore that. Rather than pretend that Atari has always been a monolithic and prestigious brand, he’s instead attempting to regain the goodwill of gamers.

Moreover, his goals seem to align with what’s important to me. I can understand why Nightdive decided to get on board. There’s absolutely a chance that none of this will pay off and Atari will again trade hands and go searching for money elsewhere, but I’m hoping that doesn’t happen.

That’s not to say that Atari under Wade Rosen is absolutely perfect. There’s still a lot to be proven and a lot of grievances I still have. However, anything is better than Asteroids: Outpost.

The post Atari CEO Wade Rosen talks preservation, Web3, and the future of retro appeared first on Destructoid.

The upside of Deadside

Reviewing Nightdive’s fantastic port of 1999’s Shadow Man back in (checks watch) 2021 was a pretty fun experience for me. I missed it back when it was first released, and while I saw it around a whole bunch on N64 rental shelves, I never really sat down to try it. I missed out! It’s not the greatest game, but it’s definitely a memorable one.

As for 2002's Shadowman: 2econd Coming, I should probably get around to trying that out.

Acclaim wasn’t a particularly good publisher. They’re best remembered for mid arcade ports and often terrible licensed games, but buying Valiant Comics was one of the few things they did that benefited games. It led to games like Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and, of course, Shadow Man. After they went bust because making good decisions wasn’t their strength,  Valiant Comics refused to stay down with them. Valiant Entertainment rose from the ashes. Shadow Man was rebooted as Shadowman, but it’s taken this long to get a new game based on the series.

Clinton McCleary from Blowfish Studios, the developer of the upcoming Shadowman: Darque Legacy, agreed to talk to me about the game. Not much is known about it beyond a teaser trailer and some environment shots. To be honest, we still don’t know much, so we’re going to have to let them paint a picture for us.

https://youtu.be/FOmky34JgZ8

Strong cues

In the original Shadow Man run of comics, the role of Shadow Man was actually passed through a bunch of characters. In the reboot series that started in 2012, it’s been the same character the whole time: Jack Boniface. I asked if this would be the case for Shadowman: Darque Legacy.

“Yes! In Darque Legacy, we join Jack early on in his journey as Shadowman, while he’s still learning the role and struggling with the responsibilities," McCleary said. "Although we are slightly altering the timeline, we’re taking strong cues from the Jack Boniface of the 2012 revival. That said, he still has much to learn and won’t have the same level of competency as you see in the comic series. Not yet!”

“While we are drawing heavy inspiration from an existing timeline within the Shadowman IP, we are telling a separate story with its own timeline," McCleary explains.

Oh! That sounds like a wiz idea. Personally, I haven’t read any of the Shadowman comics… ever. So, there was always a risk that I wouldn’t know what was going on.

“The Shadowman comic released on Free Comic Book Day is a prequel to our narrative," McCleary says. "But it won’t be required reading to understand the story we’re telling."

[caption id="attachment_383771" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Blowfish Studios[/caption]

Clean slate

What kind of game will it be? “It will be a narrative-driven, third-person action-horror title with some lite RPG elements," McCleary tells me. "There will be a heavy emphasis on combat, with challenging boss fights against horrifying creatures from the depths of the Deadside. The game will feature linear but explorable levels, with interesting rewards scattered throughout to encourage player curiosity. We want to ensure players will check every nook and cranny, always on the edge of their seat, never knowing what lies around the next corner.”

Exploration was something that 1999’s Shadow Man had a lot of, as it had a lot of gated progression. I’m personally relieved to hear that Shadowman: Darque Legacy will be drawing from that. 1999 was a long time ago, especially in terms of video games, so it would be easy to discard the successes of those games and just start over. That doesn’t sound like what’s happening here.

“It goes without saying that we’re hugely inspired by the OG Shadowman games. We’re not creating a sequel to those games, but their legacy and atmosphere are legendary," McCleary said. "Going a little deeper, one of the core elements of our title is very intentional combat that feels rewarding but simple to master. The recent Star Wars Jedi series has been an inspiration here, as well as Bloodborne, with combat that encourages the player to be on the offensive rather than defense. Naughty Dogs’ Uncharted series has also been a source of inspiration for the way players will traverse our environments.”

McCleary goes on to say, “The atmosphere and exploration aspects from the previous titles have been hugely inspirational - but this is a completely clean start. We want to respect the lineage of the Shadowman while doing something new with it. Bringing Shadowman to this generation of hardware gives us the opportunity to do some new and exciting things with the IP.”

[caption id="attachment_383758" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Blowfish Studios[/caption]

Wait and see

There’s still a lot to be proven by Shadowman: Darque Legacy. However, my conversation with Clinton McCleary certainly demonstrates a passion for the project and a reverence for what has come before. That goes a long way.

For now, we’ll just have to see what Blowfish Studios comes up with. As I said back at the hop, 1999’s Shadow Man wasn’t a great game, but it had a lot going for it. You don’t have to be exceptional to have value, and Shadow Man was a unique title. If Shadowman: Dark Legacy can tap into what made it great, polish some of the rough edges, and maybe prop up those bones, it could actually be great.

The post Shining the light on Shadowman: Darque Legacy with Clinton McCleary appeared first on Destructoid.

An interview with Shunsuke Minowa

Two-thousand and three was an absolute banger of a year for the video game industry. In that 12-month span, players got their hands on some absolute classics of the medium. Games like Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, Tony Hawk’s Underground, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Beyond Good & Evil, Warcraft III, and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, to name a few. Several franchises that are still going strong today got their start that year. Franchises like Disgaea. Arguably the first title people think of when they think of Nippon Ichi Software, Inc., Disgaea: Hour of Darkness landed on the PlayStation 2 in Japan in January 2003 and in North America that August. It had the unfortunate timing of launching the same day as Soulcalibur 2 and less than two weeks before Final Fantasy Tactics Advance in North America.

Both titles would ultimately suck all the air out of the room, but Hour of Darkness managed to strike a chord with players. IGN named it the “Best Game No One Played” during its yearly awards. And while it wasn’t the first title Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. released in the West, it was the first to establish the developer as a niche favorite outside of Japan. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness helped the company get its foot in the door. At the end of 2003, it established NIS America. It would no longer rely on established publishers to localize its games. NIS America would quickly become one of the most frequent publishers of AA and single-A games from small Japanese developers. Some titles were more successful than others, but the company’s crown jewel would always be the Disgaea series. With each release garnering solid reviews, it seemed like there was no stopping Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. or its prized IP.

But the company’s luck to a turn for the worse in 2019. That year, it released Disgaea RPG for mobile devices. The launch was anything but successful. On its first day, the game went into emergency maintenance mode. The maintenance nightmare ended up lasting months before the game was officially relaunched that November. A worldwide version wouldn’t hit app stores until 2021. The global version shut down for good earlier this month.

In 2021, Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. and NIS America released Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny. Like with Disgaea RPG, its debut didn’t live up to expectations. Reviews were muddled, an anomaly for a mainline entry in the franchise. The reception of that game was something Shunsuke Minowa, director of Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless, didn't shy away from in an interview with Destructoid.

“Disgaea 6 had two distinctions in that it was the first 3D game [of the series] and had fewer systems than previous entries to allow it to be a good starting point for new players,” he said. “The end result received mixed reception upon release. Due to this, we wanted to quickly get Disgaea 7 into players’ hands and create a game that we knew they would love.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCWjdX2GRwM

Minowa has the difficult task of righting the ship of the Disgaea series. A long-time Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. employee, Vows of the Virtueless marks his first time directing a Disgaea game after previously working as a programmer on Disgaea 5. Less than six months after the release of Disgaea 6 in Japan, development on its sequel started. It was a fast turnaround for the developer. While previous Disgaea games were released steadily every two to three years, there was a nearly six-year gap between the fifth and sixth entries in the series. At the start of development, Minowa and his team focused on player feedback from D6.

“With Disgaea 6, we tried various things to simplify existing systems in order to let new players acclimate themselves more easily,” he said. “One of those was the auto-battle feature. In a sense, we did accomplish this goal with this feature, however this feature removed one of the main joys of the series, which is actually playing through the stages. Through this, we lost a key aspect of Disgaea.”

He continued, “We had already started development from around June of 2021 and took into account all player feedback from Disgaea 6, including topics like the amount of generic character classes, the reimplementing weapon skills, and whether to remove auto-battle or find a way to improve it. What we learned from Disgaea 6’s feedback is that we should never remove elements from the series that make Disgaea what it is. We used these things as a base and aimed to create a “back to basics” title that was appropriate for the series’ 20th anniversary.”

[caption id="attachment_381725" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via NIS America[/caption]

This “back to basics” approach is at the heart of the story of Disgaea 7. Players can expect a largely scaled-back adventure when compared to the previous two titles. Disgaea 5 and 6 featured various Netherworlds in their narratives, but the decision was made at the beginning of development to just focus on one for Vows of the Virtueless, the Netherworld of Hinomoto.

As Minowa explained, “When we started to come up with what that setting would be, we looked over all of the different generic class characters and noticed that one referenced the word 'Bushido.' We thought about what that meant and how it could be the base for an interesting setting. After that we realized that this setting would work well with our goal of going back to basics, so we thought of a storyline of ‘reclaiming Bushido’ and that turned into the setting of a ‘historical Japanese-inspired Netherworld without Bushido.’”

Though the focus on a single Netherworld might feel like pared-down ambition, Shunsuke and his team are breaking new ground with the series and its protagonists Fuji and Pirilika. A lot of the pre-release advertising for the game has focused on the character Fuji, so much so that you might think he's the main character. But that's not the case.

“In the beginning stages of Disgaea 7, and for the first time in series’ history, the female lead Pirilika drives the plot and Fuji is there as a support character. However, Fuji also has his own motivations and as the plot progresses, each of their stories begin to interweave. This is one of the special points of Disgaea 7’s story.”

[caption id="attachment_381722" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via NIS America[/caption]

Minowa said the two characters were not looked at as “protagonist” and “heroine,” but rather as equal partners who are there to support each other through what should be a comedic and occasionally bonkers adventure. Of course, the two heroes of the tale will not be alone. There are at least seven featured characters in Vows of the Virtueless and 45 generic character classes, which is a massive step up from its predecessor. Four of these character classes are new, including Maiko, who is effective against male enemies, Bandit, who can help locate treasure and rare items, Zombie Maiden, who gets more powerful as allies die, and Big Eye, a demon held in high regard by other demons.

“Of the new characters, I particularly like the Big Eye as it is a character type that has not been in previous Disgaeas. It is also a large monster type but maintains a good visual balance, so I’m very satisfied overall with how it turned out.”

Minowa said he also has an affinity for Maiko and hopes players will build her up for end-game runs. If you’re the type of player who keeps on grinding long after the final villain is no more, the new Item Reincarnation feature is bound to eat up a lot of your time. Minowa describes this as one of the core systems for Disgaea 7 and is essentially a powered-up version of the series-staple Item World.

“In the Disgaea series, if you equip hand weapons, the character’s ability to counterattack is increased, if you equip shoes, their movement range is increased, so each item has its own characteristics. With Item Reincarnation, once you are finished powering up the item in the Item World, you can use Item Reincarnation to further augment its strengths and randomly have rare abilities carried over. In this way, items can be made even more powerful.”

[caption id="attachment_381726" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via NIS America[/caption]

Item Reincarnation isn’t the only way to gain an advantage on the battlefield. A new addition to Disgaea 7 is Jumbification, which basically turns a character or enemy into a kaiju. Characters undergoing Jumbification can attack anywhere on the field of battle, and each character has a unique ability for this mode that affects the entire field. As a lifelong kaiju fan, this is obviously the feature I’m most excited about.

Whether or not Disgaea 7 is able to correct the course for the series remains to be seen. The game was released in Japan this past January, less than two years after Disgaea 6 dropped in the country, selling 50,000 copies within a few days and scoring 8’s across the board from the reviewers at Famitsu. I’ve read a few Reddit posts from English-speaking players who’ve got their hands on the game, praising the changes the developers made. If this does restore the Disgaea name, it’ll be quite an accomplishment for Minowa and his team given how quickly they put this thing together.

Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless releases on October 3 in North America and October 6 in Europe on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and PS5.

The post The Disgaea series is going back to basics with Vows of the Virtueless appeared first on Destructoid.

We talk to developers about how they make virtual romances click

Dating sims have proven to be pretty resilient over the years. As genres have come and gone, virtual romance has certainly waxed and waned too; but it’s never fully disappeared, and in 2023, feels stronger than ever.

Appealing art, compelling narrative, and social gameplay elements are all compelling aspects of a game in their own right, so it should be little surprise that developers would eventually think to mash all of them together into a collage of electronic love. From early halcyon days at Tokimeki Memorial to Dream Daddy and Boyfriend Dungeon, developers have created a variety of romance stories in virtual landscapes over the years.

Even other games are starting to pick up dating and romantic elements. Much like how RPG elements have seeped into broader game design, pieces of the social sim genre have seeped into games like Hades, Mass Effect, and Persona.

So when given the chance to chat with the panelists behind a LudoNarraCon talk about this topic, I wanted to find out: how do you make a dateable video game character? How do you make romance compelling in a fictional, virtual environment? And how have those drives evolved as time has gone on?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss674WVuA1U

Why dating sims?

For Amanda Gardner, narrative director of Romancelvania, dating sims tap into a core fantasy of cultivating relationships through choices.

“Romance novels and shipping characters on TV is entertaining, but the idea that you can control that couple? Super satisfying and empowering,” says Gardner. “I prefer a lot of nuance in my dating games—can I flirt lightly with this person, or should I go full seduction with my dialogue choices? I think that taps into the need to make the experience your own.”

That’s echoed by Dani LaLonders, producer on ValiDate, who says dating sims show a side of romance you “don’t typically see in other parts of the medium.” Teddy Dief, creative director of Team OFK, looks at dating sims a bit differently; they appreciate the impressive work in the field, but for Pop. Love. Panic! The OFK Story, they weren’t implementing dating sim elements, so much as romantic elements, lining up with their interactive series approach.

[caption id="attachment_377487" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Team OFK[/caption]

And it’s important to note that dating sims, and more broadly romantic aspects of narrative games, aren’t only for fantasy fulfillment or sexual gratification. As marketing coordinator Yasmine Lee points out to me, dating sims can be fun even when someone’s not in the mood for romance.

“It’s great to root for someone whose backstory or personality appeals to you, capturing that special ‘something’ when you need a little pick-me-up in your gaming sessions,” Lee says.

For whatever reason you might engage with romance in a game, the appeal exists and may be broader than you think. And it’s gradually growing, too. While the biggest AAA games haven’t fully latched on yet, Lee notes it’s “impossible to ignore” the impact of dating sims on the indie game scene, as well as the genre’s long history in Japan.

“I don’t believe KFC would have done a marketing campaign focused on their dating game with Colonel Sanders if dating elements weren’t popular,” Lee says.

Making a hottie

The format is popular, but that’s just part of getting fans in the door. An appeal has to exist in the potential candidates for romance themselves. As Gardner remarks, it all has to start with motivation. What does a character want, and in not just a romantic way?

“I think this makes the story resonate more, and makes the relationship really pop,” Gardner says. “Because honestly, what's worse than a two-dimensional romantic interest? Nobody's interested in that—they become stock characters and the love story becomes throwaway.”

Sometimes those elements can surprise you. Gardner’s project, Romancelvania, centers around dating monster movie-style characters. A vampire, a Jersey Devil, or a seductive pumpkin in a witch costume are all options. There’s a delicate balance between campy humor and character depth, but that surface tension can draw you into the character. According to Gardner, fans have wound up liking some of these characters like the party boy Brocifer a great deal more than they had expected to.

It’s about subverting tropes. Gardner told me about different tropes used for Romancelvania, ranging from monster tropes and romantic tropes (i.e. exes to lovers) to the setting itself, framed in a reality show format.

“Even if you've never experienced one of those, there are universal attributes that would be familiar,” said Gardner. “But, most importantly, after connecting the dots of the tropes, I use this composite to really ask myself—can this be a believable person? Does their motivation work? And, if so, I start to subvert and add more nuance to the pre-existing tropes and end up with a fully realized character that I hope resonates with anyone, regardless of what they've experienced before.”

Authentic love

For LaLonders and ValiDate, authenticity plays a big role too. A core part of ValiDate: Struggling Singles in your Area is that it’s an #OwnVoices story; meaning, it’s written by an all-people of color team, with a diverse array of romantic options and pursuits.

“ValiDate wouldn’t be so authentic if we had a different team working on it,” says LaLonders. “The reason why people consider it relatable and so real is because the people behind these characters have also lived similar lives as these characters. It just hits differently in a way you typically don’t feel when a character is written by a non person of color.”

[caption id="attachment_380646" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Veritable Joy Studios[/caption]

That authenticity is also built up by having “real stories” in the game, based on the experiences of the writers, their friends, and the people in their lives. It’s based on realism and thus aims to be as realistic as possible, including bad endings and rejections, and even “rancid vibes” as part of the experience.

But ValiDate is also still seeing updates, and receiving player feedback. One example LaLonders gives is parents; players “seemed to like” the parents included in ValiDate, and so the team added more. But listening to feedback is a careful balance.

“For active feedback, we try not to listen to it too much because we are scared of changing the direction of our game narratively based on feedback and getting too far away from our original goal,” LaLonders says. “However, we have [been] actively taking notes, internal dialogue being too long and drawn out at times, a route being a little dryer than other routes. We see the feedback and we are adjusting slightly to make our game better!”

Spiderwebs

As I mentioned before, it’s not all dating. For Team OFK and the recently renamed Pop. Love. Panic! The OFK Story, there aren’t dating sim elements, but just plain dating. Two band members are in a relationship, and another—Luca—has their own encounters in the LA dating scene.

Dief and their co-writer Claire Jia started writing Pop. Love. Panic!  with the structure of a TV sitcom, they tell me. And since romance is a key part of the lives of these musicians, that means also showing how those elements tie into their everyday lives.

“We wanted to show how dating isn’t just a game mechanic, or an effort that is totally separate from life, but especially for artistic characters like ours, romance is kind of all around you,” Dief says. “LOL that sounds really cheesy but it’s how we feel. Hopeless Romantics. Desperate Romantics. It’s hard out here.”

[caption id="attachment_380647" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image courtesy of Kenneth Shepard[/caption]

The contrast between these two is interesting; while Itsumi and Jey are two band members in a relationship, navigating a working romance, Luca’s story heads toward the apps. (Dating apps, that is.) These create scenarios in which Team OFK—both the writing team and the band itself, in the story—can explore weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and tension.

“Yes you’re absolutely right, these two dating relationships were intended to be a visible contrast,” Dief says when I bring up these two relationships. “Showing a romance between characters who meet as friends, and collaborators in the band, versus showing Luca‘s romance with someone he met on an app. But actually what is more important to our story is the way in which they are the same: both of these dating scenarios proved to be problematic for the people involved, get messy for them, cause them pain, not go the way they want them to.”

A heart’s true desire

Dief makes an interesting point at the end of my questions, about the goals of dating.

“For OFK, the most important lesson we want players to walk away with is that dating is not a game that can be ‘won,’” they say. “You meet people. You hit it off, or you don’t. You have a relationship, or you don’t. Or you have a platonic relationship! There is no romantic story that ends in a singular victory.”

It’s good life advice, for sure. It’s also a good point of examination for dating sims, even from people who don’t always engage with the genre. From the outside, a dating sim can seem like a lot of things: a horny management game, a visual novel filled with cute anime boys, or an RPG with a side of hotties.

[caption id="attachment_271263" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The beauty is it can be any or all of those things, and it doesn’t have to just be about dialogue either. Gardner tells me that her game-dating preferences lie in Mass Effect and Persona 5, while Lee errs towards a classic like Clannad. Romantically-inclined games can incorporate different styles of gameplay to change things up or offer variations like roguelite dungeon crawling or Metroidvania action. Lee highlights how, when marketing Romancelvania, the team leaned into the “wacky and weird side” of its plot and characters—it’s about matching the “melody” of the game, as they say.

And as Dief stresses, it’s not about figuratively scoring, either. For them, it was a hurdle to overcome, with players coming to Pop. Love. Panic! with an expectation set on a game of love. “And we had to find a way to give them that, without turning romance into a game,” Dief says. “Without turning peoples’ hearts into something to be manipulated and won, with points and prizes.”

So while it’s been years and the genre has evolved, it still feels like there’s a lot more to explore. And while I set out to learn about what makes a good virtual hottie, I’ve walked away with an appreciation for just how all these teams are thinking about the forms interactive romance can take.

Dating elements are certainly appealing in their own right, but they can also give greater insight into the stories and worlds a team is trying to build. And if that also results in a rich cast of eminently dateable hotties, well, that’s an added bonus.

You can find Steam links for Romancelvania, ValiDate: Struggling Singles in your Area, and Pop. Love. Panic! The OFK Story here.

The post Love, pain, and hotties: Game devs talk about what makes digital dating tick appeared first on Destructoid.

Octopi and secrets and drag, oh my!

The era that arguably made me the gamer I am today was the three-and-a-half-year span the Game Boy Advance ruled my life. I was 16 when it was released, and it was the first video game device I purchased with my own money. I didn’t have to wait for a birthday or holiday. The September after it first dropped, I took the bus over to the next town and dropped around $150 on the indigo purple version along with copies of The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Super Mario Advance. Five days later, I would return to the store to get a light for the screen because it was dark as hell.

That was a difficult year for me. Having a GBA got me through some very tough times. The toughest of which was my move from Washington to California. A new city. A new school. Having to start from scratch to make friends. It wasn’t easy, and I spent more time than I’d like to admit with my nose inches away from my Game Boy Advance screen rather than being around other people. Because it was there for me at such a pivotal point in my life, there isn't another gaming device, handheld or otherwise, that brings me as much nostalgic joy.

I’m always looking out for games that can transport me back to that time in my life—even though I’m well aware that recapturing your youth is impossible. I just like the look and feel of games from that generation, which is why for the past week, I’ve been infatuated with Tako no Himitsu.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OSjg_zyKb8

Tako no Himitsu is the second game from Christophe Galati. About five years ago, I corresponded with him about his first game, Save me Mr. Tako!, in the weeks leading up to its release. I was hopeful for the game, but the release version of the game wasn’t up to snuff. Some behind-the-scenes drama between publisher Nicalis and Galati ensued, and a few years later, Galati re-released Save me Mr. Tako: Definitive Edition with the assistance of Limited Run Games.

"I had to pause everything in order to re-release Tako as a Definitive Edition," Galati explained, "even though I was told to give up and move on. I’m proud I did it even though it was like starting over. Thanks to the Limited Run Physical version, the game is finally earning me money, four years after its original release."

I can’t imagine the difficulty of making one indie game, let alone having to make it again. But that’s what Galati did. It was a massive undertaking. But he wanted to save his original vision for Tako, which was to pay homage to the various gaming generations that helped him growing up. As he told me in our first interview, Galati got his Game Boy Color right around the time I got my Game Boy Advance.

"I ended up getting the Game Boy Advance not too long after, when I was nine I think. It became a really important part of my teenage years," Galati said.

[caption id="attachment_379880" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Deneos Games[/caption]

As it did with many, the GBA had a profound effect on Galati growing up. He said he got it when he started developing his own tastes and didn’t have to rely on his older brother’s game collection for something to play. He could actually ask for games he wanted to play or buy them with his allowance. It was during these years he discovered his love of the RPG, and if there is one thing the Game Boy Advance had no shortage of, it was quality RPGs.

"The GBA is the platform where I experienced Final Fantasy for the first time, starting with Dawn of Souls (I & II), then IV, V, and VI, which stayed my favorite of the series," Galati said. "I spent a lot of time playing Golden Sun, which also became one of my favorite games. A friend lent me a small guide at school to find all the Djinns, and I remember the hype when I discovered Golden Sun II (The Lost Age)."

He cites many other classics of the era, including Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Those titles and more are helping shape Galati’s ambition with Tako no Himitsu. But it’s two specific games that are at the root of his inspiration.

A clear inspiration

"Illusion of Gaia had a huge impact on me growing up. Quintet Studio’s games had this kind of melancholy around them, a very unique aura," Galati says. "I took inspiration from that and wanted to create a simple action RPG with kind of a lite aspect in terms of mechanics and items, like Terranigma, but with many playable characters and a unique mood. Golden Sun also inspires me a lot due to his awesome gameplay. Its psynergy feature directly inspired the Tako no Himitsu magic system, as you can pair characters with an octopus that can use magic spells both in battle and for exploration puzzles. I hope I can do really cool dungeon puzzle design, as well as hiding a lot of secrets in the world."

[caption id="attachment_379883" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Deneos Games[/caption]

So what exactly is Tako no Himitsu? On his pitch deck, Galati describes the game as an action RPG whose gameplay and aesthetics are inspired by the Game Boy Advance. In the game, players will take up a party of characters with unique movesets who can be paired with octopi that grant magic skills for combat and exploration. Galati’s description notes Tako no Himitsu will have simple gameplay and combat against a legion of shadow monsters, a rich world filled with secrets to explore, and a story that explores how secrets impact us and those around us.

"The code name of the game was Himitsu Project right from the start," Galati explains. "Himitsu means secrets in Japanese, which was handy because I kept the heart of the project secret for a long time, but also because 'secret' is the main topic the game is dealing with (for both the characters and the world). The goal of the game is to explore how secrets become shadows in people's lives, and how people in power use them to rule the world. Tako no Himitsu can be translated as Secret of the Octopus. It was hard picking a name, because as a sequel it needed to have Tako in it, and the team got attached to Himitsu, so why not keep both? As the game development started in Japan, having a Japanese name was also a cool nod to its roots."

Five months at the Villa Kujoyama

The origins of Tako no Himitsu can be found far away from Galati's native France. Following Galati’s fallout with Nicalis, he applied and was accepted into a French Artist Residency program that sent him to Kyoto, Japan. It was here, at Villa Kujoyama, that Galati would heal from the less-than-stellar launch of Save me Mr. Tako!, commit himself to revising the game for the Definitive Edition, and set about on the sequel.

"I ended up pretty burned out and a bit disgusted by the game industry I would say," Galati says. "Spending time at the Villa Kujoyama in Japan really helped me to heal, it gave me the determination to save Save me Mr. Tako! and continue making games. I had to fight abuse my whole life so giving up was not an option for me. It’s very hard for marginalized people and I want to prove to myself that I can exist in this industry."

Galati documented his life at Villa Kujoyama in a Medium post that detailed his five-month stay. It’s an interesting summary of food, the Japanese indie scene, and the first stages of development for what would eventually become Tako no Himitsu. Galati says this spiritual sequel to Save me Mr. Tako! will be a lot more personal and take inspiration from events in his life.

It will also take inspiration from the people in his life. One of the playable characters in Tako no Himitsu is Karan, a drag artist. I was curious about the inclusion of Karan in the game and if Galati was aware of the incredibly stupid and dangerous push in the United States to rebrand and ban drag performances as some sort of sexual act.

[caption id="attachment_379879" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Deneos Games[/caption]

"I’m pretty much aware of what is happening in the US regarding Drag Ban laws, and sadly the same thing is starting to happen in France too," Galati says. "I was introduced to this art form in 2016 by my friend Mirage who was starting drag at the time. It was before RuPaul's Drag Race became available on Netflix, it was less mainstream so I had to follow her to small dark bars in the middle of the night in Paris, I’ll never forget this magic. I stayed close to this world and wanted to portray it in my game. I already put some queer representation in Save me Mr. Tako!, but I want to go a step further this time with a queer main character as I think it’s important to do my part in representation, especially with everything that is happening right now. I stayed in touch with many drag artists from all over the world in order to portray the drag scene properly in Tako no Himitsu. Karan was also inspired by people I dated in my life, he will be very important in the story."

Karan will be just one of several characters players will take control of throughout the adventure. Galati says he is taking a Final Fantasy VI approach to the narrative where there isn’t one main character but a large cast who have their own struggles. I’m curious about all the characters revealed so far, but I’m also interested in how the game will incorporate the octopi.

Imagine a world with no takoyaki

Tako no Himitsu takes place roughly 800 years after the events of Save me Mr. Tako! While that game ended on a positive note, the years between the two titles reveal whatever peace was achieved at the end of the first game didn’t last long, and octopi were soon wiped from the world. In Tako no Himitsu, the characters you take control of will discover there are octopus heroes who survived extermination and are ready to assist them in their world-saving adventure. Taking inspiration from Golden Sun, players can expect to use their octopus pals in combat and environmental puzzle solving. The octopi you collect can be raised and powered up by spending time with them in the Octopus Garden Tako Fountain.

"I played Sonic Adventure 2 on the Gamecube a lot, the Chao Garden definitely inspired the Tako Fountain feature in Tako no Himitsu," said Galati. "In order to use magic spells, you have to pair characters with octopuses. The goal of the garden is to increase your bond with octopuses and make them stronger. By fighting shadow monsters, you’ll get shadow gems that you can throw in the fountain to make fruits grow and feed your octopuses. There are also a few other items you can use there to boost magic and stuff like that, the mood of your octopuses as an impact on the spell power. I can confirm already that you can pet octopuses in Tako no Himitsu!"

[caption id="attachment_379884" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Deneos Games[/caption]

All of this sounds right up my alley, and seeing the game in motion is like gazing into a past I’d much rather be in than our current present. Galati is aiming for a 2025 launch for Tako no Himitsu on PC and consoles, including whatever Nintendo device is out in the world at that time. He’s also not doing it alone this time around. Galati has teamed up with a small group of artists, including Valentine Seiche, Pixel Boy, and Challenger.AAA to develop the art for the game. Having a staff means having to cut checks. Galati has secured some funding already, but more is needed to fully fund the project.

Later this year, a Kickstarter campaign for Tako no Himitsu will launch with a 50,000€ goal. His ultimate goal is to move away from being a one-man-band indie developer and actually having a team work with him at his studio Deneos Games. A team would give Galati the ability to make bigger, bolder, and hopefully queerer games. It would also help him take the logical next step for his Tako franchise. If this series is to pay homage to the handheld eras of the past, then a sequel to Tako no Himitsu would jump us to the Nintendo DS, right?

"Who knows what the future holds! I have a pretty good idea of what my next game will be, but first, we need to finish the development of Tako no Himitsu," said Galati. "What I can say is that I’d love to make a game with a 2D/3D mix like it was done in Grandia and Xenogears."

The Kickstarter page for Tako no Himitsu is now available, and the game is available on Steam to wishlist. Galati hopes to launch the game on PC and consoles—though he is just focusing on PC right now—in Q2 of 2025, with a demo in Q3 of this year.

The post Save me Mr. Tako’s sequel looks like a long-lost GBA RPG appeared first on Destructoid.

They did it their way

Stranger of Paradise was a very different lens into the world of Final Fantasy than we're accustomed to. Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo partnered with Square Enix to reimagine the story of the first Final Fantasy, creating a lovably irreverent protagonist with Jack Garland in the process.

It was, by all accounts, a solid vision of an action-driven, alternative take on Final Fantasy's origins. The team continued to build on it over time, with more downloadable content and jobs, adding some classic pieces of Final Fantasy mythos in the process.

With the recent release of the Steam version, we got a chance to catch up with director Daisuke Inoue and ask some burning lingering questions about Stranger of Paradise, now a little over a year since its launch. We've previously talked with him about updates and feedback, so with this interview, I went a little more broad picture. We talk about adapting Final Fantasy into the action realm, the fashion, and of course, the use of Frank Sinatra's "My Way." How could we not?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0WvpMw0Sko

What was your design goal with Jack? Did you want players to connect with him right away, or later as more is revealed about both him and the story at large?

I didn't necessarily want people to connect with Jack right away. Rather, for this production, instead of emotionally connecting with the character, I wanted people to ultimately understand why Jack was saying the things he was saying and why Garland ended up the way he did, while tracing things back to the world of the original FINAL FANTASY.

Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” plays early on in Stranger of Paradise, and appeared in the promotional material. What was the reason you chose this song, especially when it’s pretty tonally different from the music we hear Jack listening to in-game?

It might be a bit of a stretch to say that we “chose” the song “My Way,” as this song is where the title began.

It all started when Nomura-san showed me a video with the Japanese translation of “My Way’s” lyrics. The song is about a man who has achieved what he believes in, despite his sorrows and regrets, and although I’m sure the Japanese translation contains many liberal interpretations of the original English words, [it] conveyed this concept in a very cool and compelling way.

Garland standing in the Chaos Shrine expecting to "end this,” looking back on his life in a way that connects back to the lyrics of the song… When Nomura-san showed me the video, he suggested that this is the sort of image that he wanted to create.

I think it’s fair to say that the concept of Jack Garland was inspired from there, and it set the direction for the game's scenario.

Since the implied translation of the lyrics for "My Way" marked the inception of this game, no song other than "My Way" was ever considered. That is my answer.

What process went into translating popular Final Fantasy jobs into action-RPG move sets, and did you have any difficulties with some of the less combat-focused options like White Mage? Do you have a favorite job in the game?

As a team, we did run into some issues when trying to incorporate a few non-combat jobs into an action RPG, but without exaggeration, by simply considering, “What would Jack do?” we were able to solve these problems.

For example, even if you are a white mage, a job type with restorative abilities, if you are Jack, you could fight by incorporating offensive white magic while casting support magic on yourself in order to attack... Something like that.

I think the bigger issue we ran into was differentiating the jobs and making each one feel unique. We felt a strong synergy with Team NINJA, who have a lot of experience in creating action heavy titles, so their expertise led to the creation of diverse and fun jobs.

My personal favorite job is the swordsman, as its spirit of simplicity and fortitude fits the image of Garland in the original FINAL FANTASY. When I had a hard time deciding on which job to play, I defaulted to the swordsman because of this.

Despite the world being very fantasy driven and jobs focusing on Final Fantasy combat, the fashion of Stranger of Paradise is varied and even modern at times. What was your intent with the costume designs and equipment, and was there an intentional contrast or aesthetic you wanted to create with the party’s outfits?

Originally, the world of FINAL FANTASY was made to appear high fantasy, but is actually a low fantasy, or more of a sci-fi, world, with a mix of high-tech machines, robots, buildings, and the ancient futuristic people (Lufenians) who created them. At least, that is my interpretation. This interpretation may differ from one person to another, but as STRANGER OF PARADISE further brings out this worldview, it’s not surprising that modern interpretations of costumes and designs may be present. Rather, the design work for this project is based on the understanding that the world is a diverse blend of these elements.

As for the party characters’ outfits, our intention was to reflect them being brought from a modern world somewhere, so their default clothes reflect this relative simplicity or basicness. We also wanted that to inspire players to change up their jobs and equipment quickly and often while playing, so as to fully portray the diverse job system in this title.

When considering the direction for DLC, what was your goal with post-launch additions? Is there anything in the Final Fantasy universe you would like to still tackle?

When we were considering the direction of the expansions, we started with the idea of depicting the later lives of the characters. We were torn between having this take place either following the events of the original FINAL FANTASY or directly after the events of STRANGER OF PARADISE. However, I remember thinking that we should first properly depict their endings for the sake of the players who love this title and its characters, and that we should prepare an element of play appropriate to these.

The world of FINAL FANTASY has expanded greatly, so there are certainly things we can do and things we would like to do. At any rate, I hope that we can continue to challenge ourselves to do things that cannot be done with the numbered titles.

Are there any other franchises you’d like to see adapted, in a way similar to Stranger of Paradise?

Origin stories for The Legend of Zelda’s Ganon and Bowser from the Super Mario series immediately come to mind… But those are completely different IPs from a different company, aren’t they? (laughs) I always wanted to know why Bowser is so fixated on Princess Peach… but I guess I should at least answer this question with something from SQUARE ENIX, so in that case, I’d have to say DRAGON QUEST!

While it may not quite resonate with people overseas, if we dare to make the somewhat gentle/laidback world of DRAGON QUEST one that is more aggressive/thrilling, this may be a good opportunity to have a wider audience overseas get to know the franchise.

The post We talk with Stranger of Paradise’s director about fashion, Final Fantasy, and My Way appeared first on Destructoid.

Break out your timelines

The newest Legend of Zelda tale is days away, and given the trailers we've seen so far, there are still many mysteries to uncover. A new interview with some of the leads behind The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom helps give us an idea of what's to come, and teases a link to the series' past too.

Nintendo has published two parts of a three-part interview series with the creative team behind The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Alongside series producer Eiji Aonuma, there is Tears of the Kingdom director Hidemaro Fujibayashi, technical director Takuhiro Dohta, art director Satoru Takizawa, and sound director Hajime Wakai. This creative group answered a few questions about the upcoming Tears of the Kingdom, including why they stuck with the same map.

When it came to one particular topic, though, Aonuma mentions an interesting way in which Tears of the Kingdom may be delving into the past. Note: While this is a Nintendo-published interview, some might consider this potential story beat a spoiler. So if you want to go in without any hints of what The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom might be tackling in its story, turn back now. Potential spoilers follow after the jump.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHGShqcAHlQ

A link to its past

According to the creative team behind Tears, "hands" are a key theme in the upcoming game. This is represented through Link's arm, his abilities, and also in how he's able to cooperate with other characters. The team implements this in various ways through The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, from handclaps in the music to hand symbols in the visuals. Then, Aonuma mentions something interesting:

Aonuma: Well, simply put, "hands" expresses the idea of "connecting." This applies to the story too, which connects to Hyrule's past. It also talks about a major struggle called "The Imprisoning War," which until now was considered a myth even in Hyrule.

Those who have played The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, or spent time doing some Zelda theorycrafting, will recognize the Imprisoning War. It's the conflict that leads into A Link to the Past, where Ganon is sealed in the Sacred Realm by the Seven Sages.

Those events have been somewhat modified and changed over the years, through the establishment of the official timeline and the Hyrule Historia. But it does look like Tears of the Kingdom may be dealing with the sealing of Ganon/Ganondorf, and the events that transpired around it. It would also seem to place Tears within the continuity of the timeline where Link fails to defeat Ganon at the end of Ocarina of Time.

We'll know for sure on Friday, May 12, when The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom hits Switch.

The post New Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom interview teases a link to series’ past appeared first on Destructoid.

I wish there was a hole I could just crawl into and die

One of the titles that had the greatest impact on my consciousness in the past few years was Happy’s Humble Burger Farm. What seemed like a novel concept on the surface turned out to have a lot of beef underneath. Centering a horror game around cooking is engrossing enough, but it then gets tied up in interesting ways and dunked into an unconventional world full of mystery and horror. The narrative tells the story of trying to escape from an obvious simulation, but the world in which this simulation exists is an entity worth exploring on its own.

Immediately after stepping into the game, you’re hit from all sides with flavor lore. The TV plays an almost unending list of shows, the coffee table prominently displays a book on the history of the Barnyard Buds, and a Walkman sits nearby to fill your ears with radio skits that inject fat into the world around you. None of it is necessary to understand Happy’s Humble Burger Farm’s main plot, but actually digging through it is a trip on its own.

It’s obvious someone really loves the lore and creating it because there’s a lot more of it than a five-ish hour game really needs. That’s because the Scythe Saga Universe is a sprawling concept originally dreamed up by Jon of the Shred (Jon Reilly) back in 2005. I wanted to get to know more about where this came from, so I got in touch and talked shop. Now I’m sharing that shop with you.

[caption id="attachment_375462" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Beef underneath

The Scythe Saga Universe didn’t actually originate as an idea for a video game. It was a world to base a rock opera in. “I’ve been developing all of this stuff personally since 2005 when I was just a teenager developing a rock opera,” Jon told me. “I kinda wanted all my music to be set in its own world. That ballooned out into a record label in 2012. My buddy Kaleb joined, and when he joined, he brought art and music of his own to the table. It was me and him that went forward and started a dev team with his childhood friend Blake, but it was the three of us making games that really made it a universe. Before that, it was just concept albums, like what if Dark Side of the Moon had 90 sequels.”

The short-form horror genre has taken off recently, carving a niche within a niche. Most of the time, the inspiration comes from horror movies themselves. Chillah’s Art stays in line with Japanese horror, while Puppet Combo loves their grotesque ‘80s slashers. While there is some of that inspiration, especially in Scythe’s Northbury Grove games, it’s less identifiable in Happy’s Humble Burger Farm.

“A really good comparison point is Mortal Kombat because of how they take so many different genres, and they manage to wrap it into their own unique take on how all this stuff could co-exist.” With mystical monks, sorcerors, movie stars, monsters, and special ops, the Mortal Kombat series does manage to juggle a lot of different genres. “I just really like how they’re able to connect so many different types of stuff that I love and create their own universe for it. It all feels earned.”

With slasher killers, evil corporations, and even a defined solar system to explore, the Scythe mythos already offers opportunity to a lot of different interests. For the DreadX Collection, Scythe Dev Team provided Carthanc, a game about futuristic archeology. It was set thousands of years after another game of theirs, To the End of Days, which depicted the end of the titular world, Carthanc. This is depicted as a completely different planet in the same solar system that Happy’s Humble Burger Farm takes place on. In HHBF, and even as far back as Northbury Grove, you can find mention of it within diagrams of the solar system.

[caption id="attachment_375464" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Goldeneye meets Twisted Metal

Despite the grandness and depth of the Scythe universe, you don’t need to have knowledge of it to understand the plot of the individual games. Happy’s Humble Burger Farm is about escaping a simulation. What happened in the earlier title, Happy’s Humble Burger Barn, may be directly connected, but the important details are given to you, and playing the previous game just means you have a wider insight into what’s happening. “I like to reward people with that deep lore if they’re paying attention, but it’s not necessary to fully enjoy the experience. They’re all standalone as well.

“The universe was so expansive that, by the time we started making video games, any genre we wanted to cover already existed in a pocket of this universe.” According to Mr. Of the Shred, Happy’s Humble Burger Barn started off as a first-person vehicular combat game. “Goldeneye meets Twisted Metal.” Which somehow morphed into “a drive-thru at a restaurant.” After the gameplay, Kaleb and Blake brought Jon in to “tie it into the Universe and make it scary.”

In many ways, it sounds a bit like creating a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, where there are certain standards and places to draw from for whatever story you want to tell. The big difference here is that Scythe Dev Team is drawing from lore that they themselves created.

[caption id="attachment_375463" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Sticking with you

In terms of inspiration, Jon doesn’t turn to video games. “For my writing, my music, my sound design, I’m more inspired by film.” He specifically mentions director John Carpenter as a big draw. Despite that, Scythe Dev Team tries to invoke the sense of exploration found in games like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, where there’s a sense of wonderment at what’s unfolding around you.

Jon follows through to the extent that he doesn’t play other short-form indie developments like those from Puppet Combo. “I don’t go out of my way to play these games ‘cause I don’t want to get inspiration from them or take their ideas inspiration from them.”

I brought up the similarities between Happy’s Humble Burger Farm and Five Nights at Freddy’s. Notably, they’re set in restaurants where you’re harrowed by mascots. I asked if he played them. “What’s funny is no,” he said. “I never played any of them. I don’t know if anyone else [at Scythe Dev Team] did. When Tinybuild picked us up for Burger Farm, they told us, ‘You should use these mascots; why wouldn’t you?’ and we were, like, ‘Yeah, okay, if you’re telling us it’s a good idea, we’re going to go with it.’”

“Kaleb came up with Happy, and I came up with the rest of the Barnyard Buds based on that. My inspiration was The Animals of Farthing Wood, which is some old cartoon where the animals die viciously. It’s like Walking Dead meets Winnie the Pooh. It’s really strange.” He went on to mention Plague Dogs, Watership Down, Bambi, Land Before Time, Lion King. “They all had dark subject matter that would make them stick with you.”

“That was the Barnyard Buds. The whole joke was that meets McDonald’s.”

[caption id="attachment_375471" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The Scythian Future

Beyond the games, Scythe Dev Team does a lot of augmented reality game stuff. There are numerous in-character sites related to the universe, including Maverick Cooper News and Justice for Toe. They’re currently leading into their next game, Project Meganet, which is to be a VR title. To help with this, they’re gradually releasing microgames in a series such as Love at First Squeak.

I don’t have VR, so that kind of sucks for me. However, it’s not going to be the end of the Scythe sage. “The whole universe – the games – will all eventually come to a head, and everything will connect in ways that people don’t expect,” Jon explains. “There is a storyline that we’re following for the greater universe that we’ve alluded to so much, but no one would possibly know it’s going to happen until we do the big twist to contextualize all the hints we’ve left.”

Hopefully, we don’t get there too quickly. For now, you can get Happy’s Humble Burger Farm wherever fine video games are sold, but for some of Scythe Dev Team’s earlier titles, you’ll need to grab them off of itch.io.

The post World-building with Scythe Dev Team’s Jon of the Shred appeared first on Destructoid.

From the ground up

While SimCity happened way back in 1989, the city builder genre is in a sort of renaissance. Sure, Cities: Skylines continues its stranglehold on municipal simulation, but a sub-genre has sprung up in its shadow; the survival city builder (sometimes just known as settlement-builders). While this genre has technically been around for decades, it only started finding its identity in the wake of 2014’s Banished. Since then, a number of games like Settlement Survival have picked up the ball where it was left, and other games like Frostpunk have taken the concept in different directions.

Management games, in general, and city builders as a whole are big relaxation games for me. While games that require a hyper-focused state, such as Doom Eternal, help me manage my anxiety, it’s city builders that help me unwind.

The genre shows no sign of letting up, with games like Stray Fawn Studios’ The Wandering Village and Team Kerzoven’s Circle of Kerzoven on the horizon with differing approaches. Both games are from Switzerland and under the SwissGames umbrella, which gave me the opportunity to talk to both of them.

[caption id="attachment_372135" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

One step further

Circle of Kerzoven is the most closely adjacent to Banished of the two projects. The big difference is that the environment is simulated within it. Not only do you manage the needs of your settlers, but you also must balance their needs against the resources available. Not respecting nature can cause animals to go extinct or even “explosively multiply.”

“When Banished was released, I was extremely impressed by the consistent simulation of the villagers,” described Marco Burri, founder of Team Kerzoven and Lead Developer on Circle of Kerzoven. "You could observe the life of each person, which was unique at that time. However, I thought to myself, ‘Why not go one step further? Why not simulate and represent plants and animals this way as well?’ Furthermore, due to my background as a systems engineer, I have a flair for detailed simulation models, control loops, and complex natural processes.”

Despite the survival element of the game, Tearm Kerzoven still focused on making Circle of Kerzoven a relaxing experience. “Who does not want to be cozy? I think in our everyday life, we experience a lot of stress and find ourselves in an ever faster-changing world. Circle of Kerzoven also relies heavily on the element of slowing down as part of the gameplay experience. That's why a lot of Kerzoven is about observing things like ‘how does nature behave?’ ‘Is the soil moist enough for my forest?’ or ‘is the wolf population doing well?’”

[caption id="attachment_372136" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Team Kerzoven[/caption]

Principle of Symbiosis

Stray Fawn Studios’ The Wandering Village has a different approach but still has the same focus on co-existing with nature. You build your settlement on the back of a massive, wandering creature called an Onbu. You not only need to keep your villagers healthy and happy but also tend to the needs of the very land itself. “At its core, it’s a game about the biological principle of symbiosis,” described Philomena Schwab, co-founder of Stray Fawn Studios and game designer on The Wandering Village.

“The game’s setting is inspired by Indian and northern mythology. The legend of the ‘world turtle’ can be found in many movies, books, and games, but there has never been a game that makes the creature its primary game mechanic before. In terms of story and world-building, we are strongly inspired by the 1984 Japanese animation movie Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.” The narrative link there is that the world is overwhelmed by toxic fungus, which makes the relative safety of the Onbu that much more important.

I asked Schwab what they thought of the rising popularity of cozy games, and they had this to say, “The target group for games has become much wider in the past few years, allowing many new genres and topics to find an audience. Also, I believe that people are seeking comforting experiences in the wake of the recent events that are happening to our society.”

Personally, I prefer the term “dumpster fire” to describe the recent events that are happening to our society.

[caption id="attachment_372137" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The influence of beavers

I already loved city builders back when I was a kid, and SimCity had a huge effect on my development. It created an interest in urban planning and cities in general that has lasted to this day. I wanted to hear what the developers considered the best games in the genre.

For Marco Burri, “Some of my favorites can be seen in Kerzoven: As always when developing a game, I borrowed some mechanics from the best. For example, the fact that several player villages in different climatic zones are simulated simultaneously is inspired by the Anno series. Of course, an old master must not go unmentioned here. Dwarf Fortress. It has always fascinated me, and it is thanks to Dwarf Fortress that I focused on a rich simulation of nature and all living things in Kerzoven. There are a lot more great games with great mechanics like Timberborn, Wandering Village, or Cities: Skylines.”

Meanwhile, for Philomena Schwab, “Personally, I greatly enjoy Kingdoms and Castles because of how accessible the devs made the game. In many city builders, you have a steep learning curve, but this game lets you jump right in. I’m also a fan of Timberborn, because of its adorable setting, and I played waaaay too many hours of Banished.”

All great games, but I have to echo the love of Timberborn. Still in Early Access, Timberborn is a fantastic survival city builder that combines urban planning and engineering. Plus, all your villagers are beavers, which makes it even better. I’m very happy to see both developers give it a shoutout.

[caption id="attachment_372138" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Team Kerzoven[/caption]

The value of failure

Speaking of survival, one of my favorite parts of city builders has been the disasters. While suffering is always fun to watch, I also enjoy trying to rebuild and rise from the ashes. However, their random nature can be frustrating, so I wanted to see what modern developers think of the mechanic.

Marco Burri from Team Kerzoven had a unique thought on the facet, “I like disasters or dangers which are emerging from the simulation, for example, when you shoo away all carnivores and then get a rat plague, which then eat all the vegetables and corn around the village like in Circle of Kerzoven. You can see the issue building up and have the chance to mitigate the problems or learn for the future. I personally do not like event disasters in games like tornadoes or earthquakes if you can not prepare or avoid the disaster.”

It’s sort of interesting to see the contrast of Philomena Schwab’s answer, “Personally, I’m always a fan of survival mechanics in city builders. Feeling that everything I build is fragile and could be destroyed if I’m not careful gives me a greater sense of purpose and value in city builders (and many other genres too). I love to fail, figure out what I did wrong, and try again.”

I like seeing meteors gouge big craters out of the landscape, then building within the new landscape feature. Perhaps it's my storyteller's perspective; the people have this reminder of the disaster beneath their feet. It shows that you can return from destruction.

[caption id="attachment_372139" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Swiss bank account

Both Circle of Kerzoven and Wandering Village are small indie productions. They recieve funding in part by Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia’s SwissGames initiative. I asked Oliver Miescher, Head of International Platforms, about the requisites to obtain funding (beyond being based in Switzerland).

“The Swiss game studios who are supported by Pro Helvetia must convince a jury with international experts,” they explained. “They select projects with originality and a high artistic quality which have an international market potential. They also have an eye on the technical approach, how the game was made, and how relevant it is compared to other indie releases around the globe.”

Oh gosh. That sounds intense.

“One of the biggest challenges for indie studios is the short runway that indie studios have, i.e., the length of time a studio can work on a project without additional funds. Especially in Switzerland, we do have a lot of talented game studios with a lot of great game ideas, but in Switzerland, there are no investments."

"That’s why we bring Swiss game studios to GDC and other fairs to help them find financing partners like publishers, who make their projects possible at the end. At the same time, we also bring different game developers from Switzerland and other countries together and build a network with industry people from all over the world. In this 'safe space,' studios can exchange with people from all over the world and get valuable feedback regarding the business questions they have. We support them with business skills (coaching and mentoring activities) and prepare them to be ready with their projects before they meet possible partners at the fairs around the world.”

[caption id="attachment_372140" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Team Kerzoven[/caption]

City eating

After a slump in the ‘00s, fans of city builders are eating well, thanks to the indie market. In a way, the genre seems to be a great nexus for imagination and logical construction. Plus, as the developers have pointed out, the state of the world has created fertile soil for more relaxing genres.

However, being an indie developer and trying to support yourself off that line of work is extremely difficult. Even the best executed and most well-imagined games won't get the recognition they deserve. It’s helpful to have the support of the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia to help with PR and establish mentorship.

The Wandering Village is currently in Early Access for PC. Circle of Kerzoven is also focusing on PC, and will drop into Early Access later this year.

The post Talking survival city builders with Stray Fawn Studios and Team Kerzoven appeared first on Destructoid.

Polishing up an old mecha

With the impending release of Rainmaker Productions' port of Assault Suit Valken: Declassified, I got the opportunity to talk with the development director of the project, Masanori Yagi, at the legendary developer M2. M2 has been in the porting business since 1993’s Gauntlet IV for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. Since then it has grown to be one of the most respected developers for porting games to new hardware.

Rainmaker Productions approached M2 to port Assault Suit Valken to modern consoles with the purpose of providing a version that was re-translated and uncensored. In 1993, The North American version was published by Konami for the SNES as Cybernator. While the game itself was largely unchanged, character portraits were removed, text was cut, and a rather grisly ending scene was omitted entirely.

[caption id="attachment_370088" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Sick days

As the development director, Yagi-san describes that “My main duty is to set the direction of the game, create the specifications and then manage the development team to bring the game to completion based on these specifications.” He notes that this includes collecting information on the original game, consulting with the creative director at Rainmaker, Ollie Barder, and “examining additional elements for playing the game on modern consoles.”

However, he also notes “I fell ill in the middle of development this time, so I had to leave the practical side of things to another member of the team who came in to help me and kept an eye on the situation. We believe that we have created a product that can satisfy our users, and this is entirely due to the efforts of Rainmaker Productions and our development staff. On the other hand, if there are any shortcomings, it will be entirely my fault.”

Harsh.

[caption id="attachment_370091" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Accumulated experience

M2 is considered to be the leading authority on emulation and console porting. Over its history, it has notably worked with Sega and Konami to bring their games to the modern era. Compilations like the Castlevania Anniversary Collection and even the Sega Genesis and Turbografx-16 mini consoles were handled by them.

When asked about why they’re so well respected, Yagi-san said, “I would say that the various experiences we have accumulated so far are the most important. Emulation requires the accumulation of information about the original platform. The knowledge we have accumulated through a significant amount of experience and research to date has been put to good use in this work and will also be the foundation for the future.”

While emulation has come a long way in providing software platforms for old hardware, M2 still strives to present the games it ports right down to the warts and eccentricities that a lot of people might not even notice. Part of this is because M2 does its best to incorporate people who worked on the original projects. “It is also important to enlist the help of people who are familiar with each game title. It is preferable to have someone on the development staff who is familiar with the game, but we often invite top players of the game to play the game before it is completed and point out in detail the differences with the original game.”

He went on to add, “But in the end, I think it all comes down to having a love for the game and not sparing any effort to convey that love.”

[caption id="attachment_370092" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Over-seas influence

Rainmaker Productions approached M2 to handle the port of Assault Suit Valken. Here in North America, it is a bit of a niche title that was influential enough to inspire Metal Warriors but largely forgotten about today. According to Yagi-san, that wasn’t the case in Japan where it was much more popular.

“This game has established a reputation as a masterpiece of mecha action games from the time of its release and remains extremely popular to this day. Aside from the high level of action in the game, it is also an essential title for gamers who are fans of mecha animation in particular, due to the many respects it pays to classic mecha animation. I was just such a user myself (laughs).”

[caption id="attachment_369930" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Porting for preservation

As high-profile digital marketplaces go offline and it becomes more difficult to play even the most influential games of yesteryear, game preservation has become an important topic of discussion. I’ve previously and repeatedly stated that I think every game, regardless of how bad or culturally insignificant they are, should be available for purchase and play at any time. However, I wondered what a port developer might think about the topic.

“I believe that each work, not just games, has a different value depending on the recipient,” Yagi-san imparted. “From that point of view, I would say that every game is worth porting. However, it is also true that there are various restrictions when it comes to actual porting. Therefore, it is inevitable that priority is given to works that are recognized by many people as valuable or epoch-making. In this context, we are always looking for opportunities to offer as diverse a range of games as possible in modern consoles.”

I pushed a little more and brought up console backward compatibility. Considering hardware maintaining its ability to play existing games would make port developers like M2 less necessary, I was curious to see what the response would be. I’m heartened to say that Yagi-san considers it ideal.

“Backward compatibility is a very important factor, from the standpoint that every game has some value, as mentioned above,” he said. “Ideally, the accumulated gaming culture should not become a thing of the past, but be maintained in a form that can always be played.”

[caption id="attachment_370093" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Tried and true

As I mentioned earlier, M2 is well respected when it comes to porting games to new hardware. Even competitors like Digital Eclipse consider them to be the gold standard. As Masanori Yagi has outlined, this comes from having a great deal of respect and familiarity with the medium. More than just being satisfied that a game runs in some state on modern hardware, they go the extra mile in ensuring that it behaves exactly as expected, warts and all. Then, time permitting, they usually stack a few twists on top of that.

M2’s tale is the stuff of game developer legend. Like many games, I often breathe a sigh of relief whenever I learn that they’re behind a particular port or collection. They always deliver, and Assault Suit Valken Declassified has proven to be no exception. I’m hoping this is not the last time that M2 and Rainmaker Productions will team up to bring us the definitive version of some classic titles.

The post Talking preservation and Assault Suit Valken with Masanori Yagi from M2 appeared first on Destructoid.

We sat down with some of the minds behind the next Final Fantasy

Making a new Final Fantasy is a big deal. The series has been running for over three decades, and each numerical entry leaves its own mark. Final Fantasy XVI isn’t just a new RPG in a long-running series, but one that has to carry a legacy and forge its own path at the same time.

In some ways, then, the creative team that’s been assembled for Final Fantasy XVI makes a good amount of sense. As part of a media preview event for XVI, we got the chance to sit down for a roundtable interview with four key members of the team: producer Naoki Yoshida, main director Hiroshi Taki, combat director Ryota Suzuki, and localization director Michael-Christopher Koji Fox.

Producer Yoshida isn’t a stranger to Final Fantasy, as he and several other members of the team at this interview spent quite a while revitalizing the 14th entry in the series. It was, as Yoshida tells us, why they were approached to create Final Fantasy XVI: because of what they did on Final Fantasy XIV.

“So yes, that was very difficult,” Yoshida said (via translator). “That said, creating Final Fantasy XVI, I think I’ve felt more pressure on this project.”

[caption id="attachment_366089" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Square Enix
FINAL FANTASY XVI © 2023 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.[/caption]

Turning up the action

While many names on the roster may be familiar to those who have played a good chunk of Final Fantasy XIV, Suzuki hails from a different background. With a past at Capcom, developing more action-oriented games like Devil May Cry 5 and Dragon’s Dogma, his experience falls on the real-time end of the battle spectrum. But so does Final Fantasy XVI.

As we saw in our preview, Final Fantasy XVI is an action-RPG in the full sense of both words. There are role-playing game elements, including a fair bit of character customization and equipment for protagonist Clive. But it moves at an action pace, as Clive doesn’t wait for active-time battle meters or flip through command menus. XVI is very much an action game, too. Yoshida says it comes from a place of asking what those turn-based battles of Final Fantasy past might have looked like, if they could take place in real-time.

“For example, using a spell like Stop or Freeze, how would that play out in real-time?” Yoshida said. “And taking that, and taking something that we’ve only imagined in our heads while playing the turn-based system and turning that into real-time, is something we feel that we’ve brought to the series.”

Of course, the challenge there is finding a way to appease both parties. Action-heavy games aren’t just a bit faster, but can sometimes be a bit less forgiving. This is something the Final Fantasy XVI team seems to have anticipated, at the very least; there are items, “Timely Accessories,” that make fights more approachable for those who can’t manage the reaction speeds or simply want to tune the frenzy down a notch.

In essence, the team wants to create something that can have a high skill ceiling, where action game players could find a challenge and a system that requires technique, while still having a lower floor for those who are new to these kinds of games. Suzuki says the team wants people to enjoy the story and get to the end of the game, “without being frustrated,” while creating something that “feels natural” for both the action-inclined and the action-disinclined.

[caption id="attachment_366086" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Square Enix
FINAL FANTASY XVI © 2023 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.[/caption]

To enable this, some of the scope had to be narrowed in on Clive himself. The player will have party companions, though they will (aside from commands issued to Clive’s dog companion) be controlled by A.I. Yoshida explains that by narrowing the scope, it opens up more control over what Clive can do, while also not overwhelming the player with too many things to juggle. 

“It comes down to not wanting to do things like half measures,” Yoshida said. “We didn’t want something that like, action game fans would look at and it’s like, ‘You’ve spread everything out, it’s not very fun as an action game.’ But we also didn’t want to have something that was so overwhelming to [Final Fantasy] fans that they’re like, ‘Oh it’s too busy, there’s too much to do, I can’t really get into this.’ And so, for that sense, focusing everything on Clive allows players to focus on that, and reduce that amount of stress, and not have to do things by half measures.”

There are still pieces of Final Fantasy embedded in XVI. (At one point, they joke that you do always need to have chocobos and moogles.) Some elements are even more prominent than they’ve been in other Final Fantasy titles. Crystals, powerful summons, and more are all a part of the world of Valisthea in Final Fantasy XVI. But even smaller drives call towards what the team feels are important pieces of Final Fantasy. Takai references the idea that there is a lost civilization, and that something happened to them long ago, affecting current events. Though we didn’t get to see it in this version, Clive will be able to explore the world and see remnants of this lost civilization in the full game.

“Again, because we want as many players to get into this as possible, not just original [Final Fantasy] series fans but new fans as well,” Takai said. “You have to have that mixture of new and old, and we think that we have enough new as well as enough old to get both parties happy.”

Final Fantasy XVI will explore some darker themes, too. In the preview alone, we see a fair bit of political intrigue and drama. Trailers show warriors fighting, blood splattering, and humans erupting into Eikons. Takai says the reason they went with that was because XVI’s developers, and the series fan base itself, have both grown older.

[caption id="attachment_366088" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Square Enix
FINAL FANTASY XVI © 2023 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.[/caption]

“We kind of all know that the world can be a dark place at times,” Takai said. “And that not just showing the happy things, but showing those dark things as well, kind of again creates this balance, and also enhances the fact that things can be good. By showing that things can be bad, when things are good, it has much more meaning, and we wanted to get that across as well.”

Yoshida adds that he’s a big fan of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight films, specifically the way it portrays good and evil that are reliant on one another.

“You have that kind of like, that back and forth with the Batman and the Joker is that, again, it's not just pure good and evil,” Yoshida said. “It’s that because one exists, the other can't exist; without the other, the other can't exist. And we kind of wanted to bring that theme into Final Fantasy XVI as well. It's not just good and evil. There's this gray area, and that both of them feed off each other, and both of them need each other to exist, and so having the dark in there to accentuate, you know, importance of the light at the end and that there is hope, is what we wanted to get across.”

[caption id="attachment_366083" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Square Enix
FINAL FANTASY XVI © 2023 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.[/caption]

Lessons learned

Near the end of the interview, I asked the developers what they felt they’d learned from making Final Fantasy XVI, as we’re nearing the June release date. For Suzuki, it was taking everything he’d learned at Capcom, and bringing it over to Square Enix.

“It’s something that Square Enix didn’t have,” Suzuki said. “And now they do have this. And now that Square Enix has it, how they’re going to be able to use it moving forward. Hopefully, they’ll be able to take that and build on it.”

“So for me is that, because we were creating the game on new technology for us, to be our first game on the PlayStation 5, we went into it thinking, ‘Okay, we don't want to try to do too much. Because if we try to do too much, It's gonna be too overwhelming for the team. This is our first time on it,’” Takai said. “In the end, it turned out we did way too much, and it was a lot of work for the team.”

For Yoshida, he talked again about the pressure of making a Final Fantasy game. He talks about taking his experience on XVI and bringing it back to Final Fantasy XIV, as the MMORPG continues to grow and expand. And, as Suzuki noted, he talks about high-level action games.

“That’s something that our company hadn't been able to do before,” Yoshida said. “And that is not something that we want to just forget about now that it's done, it’s something that we will build on moving forward.”

Again, Yoshida admits, you can’t please everyone. Those who want turn-based battles will ask why it’s action-based. Those who want an open world will ask why it’s not. And when it’s darker in theme, people will ask why it’s not brighter.

A quote that stuck with me, long after I’d left the preview event and gone home, was about Yoshida and the team’s approach to making a new Final Fantasy, and what they wanted to announce. With Final Fantasy XVI, they wanted to show that this series can be “much more than just what you’ve seen in the past 10 or 15 years.” But also that the series itself has potential beyond all that, for future makers of future Final Fantasy games.

“The other thing is just, even more so than showing the players that the series can have more potential, it’s showing future developers that you can do what you want,” Yoshida said. “You don’t have to stick to what’s come before, you can make something new. And showing, again, developers the potential moving forward that they can create whatever they want for a Final Fantasy game.”

_{This is a special version made for media to experience, and content may differ from the final version.
Travel for this event was accommodated by the publisher.}

The post Final Fantasy XVI leads talk action, history, and the pressure of forging a new legend appeared first on Destructoid.

Build it up and tear it all down

Most city-builders are about expanding and growing. The goal is to take a natural, untamed world and bend it to your benefit, turning the realm into a humming machine for resources and production. Terra Nil, however, does the inverse.

Rather than creating a monument to your designs, Terra Nil is a reverse city-builder from BroForce studio Free Lives. It asks you to take the barren, scorched earth and fill it with life. You restore the grasslands, let water flow down canals, and crack the earth to restore the ecosystem. And then, at the end, you pack up and leave, with only nature in your wake.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpX9MsuUmow

This particular game has been on my radar for a while now, and publisher Devolver Digital recently confirmed that Terra Nil is planned for launch on March 28, for PC and Netflix. Ahead of the release, we had a chance to sit down with lead artist Jonathan Hau-Yoon to talk about how the team approached this unique take on building.

Caught in a jam

While Free Lives may be well-known for releases like BroForce or Genital Jousting, Terra Nil is outside the realm of blasting bits or flopping dicks. The concept originated from Free Lives' Sam Alfred, who conceived it as part of a Ludum Dare game jam with the theme "start with nothing." The "compo" version of the game was made from the ground-up in 48 hours, and placed fourth overall. But game jam origins aren't new to Free Lives.

"All of our games have originated from game jams, which allows us to be quite experimental and try out novel ideas," said Hau-Yoon. "I think that that’s why Free Lives has made a patriotic pixel art platformer, a VR gladiator game, a penis-themed party game and a two button mobile sports simulator. We have countless other jam games that haven’t quite made the cut for being a commercial title."

For Terra Nil, Hau-Yoon attributes the concept to both Alfred's previous use of buildings and grids, and to growing up in South Africa. Growing up there, they were never far from a hiking trail.

"South African education also has quite a leaning toward conservation and an appreciation for natural beauty," said Hau-Yoon. "The Big Five appear on our bank notes, and many people holiday at national parks and game reserves. It’s a source of national pride and a big driver of tourism. So some parts of the game, like the relationship between fynbos and fires, and how fires are necessary for many of our plants to grow, is inspired by that knowledge."

[caption id="attachment_364991" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Free Lives / Devolver Digital[/caption]

Breathing life into the planet

The Free Lives tam has done research into different real-world phenomena, like coral restoration and shade cloths, or fences used to protect beaches from erosion.

"Otters have pockets in their armpits! Flamingos are pink because of their diet" said Hau-Yoon. "Now, these don’t necessarily make it into Terra Nil as-is, but we get excited about them. We are inspired by nature and conservation, but we often bend reality around what makes for a game mechanic that’s more intuitive or easier to understand, or that thematically fits better with some of the other mechanics in a map."

In practice, you can see this as controlled burns elicit new variety in the ecosystem. Through tiny modifications and a little bit of video game magic, Terra Nil gives you the power fantasy of taken a lifeless patch of dirt and seemingly breathing life back into it.

[caption id="attachment_364992" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Free Lives / Devolver Digital[/caption]

Green serenity

A big part of the appeal is the emotions and feeling Terra Nil can exhibit. When I first previewed the game, I was amazed by just how calming it all felt. City-builders are normally pretty stressful affairs; games like Banished ask you to watch constantly climbing and falling numbers, each of which could spell either prosperity or doom.

Terra Nil does have multiple difficulty options, to allow the optimizers to min-max their way to a green future and for more casual enjoyers to simply soak in the sun. A Zen mode, though, really highlights the effectiveness of Free Lives' design.

When you plant a building, there's a soft flutter and cascade of sound as grass flows over the barren earth. The soft torrent of water feels almost tangible when you hear it rush through canals. Even fire and lava crackle in incredibly pleasing ways. It's no surprise that, as Hau-Yoon describes it, the goal of in-house sound designer Jason Sutherland was to create a sound palette that sounds physical.

"Searching for the different sounds created by the different buildings, biomes and animals should in itself be an adventure, and we wanted someone who listened to the game playing with their eyes closed to have a bit of an ASMR, that their ears would prick at the sound of a frog or a bubbling waterfall," said Hau-Yoon.

The visuals were also made soft, inspired by Kazuo Oga's work on Studio Ghibli films. It's all calm, soothing, and serene.

[caption id="attachment_364993" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Free Lives / Devolver Digital[/caption]

You can rebuild

As Hau-Yoon tells me, the team found that the "main character" of Terra Nil was not the "city' itself. Other builders focus on the buildings you create and maintain, the factories that produce, and the people that staff them. But in Terra Nil, the focus is nature itself. You build things to see what they create, and how they combine. An arboretum can make a forest, which can house trees, and those can house beehives. One begets another. And eventually, your role in this building is done.

The idea of building it all and then leaving, deconstructing all your artificial architecture to leave only a slice of nature behind, is thematically potent. There is no grand city sprawl at the end of this. Just nature.

Hau-Yoon says they hope Terra Nil renews players' interest in the environment and conservation efforts. But they also hope it eases some anxiety and helps them to relax. I know for me, Terra Nil is looking like a very peaceful game to cool down with, accompanied with a glimmer of hope for our own reality.

Terra Nil goes live on PC and Netflix on March 28.

The post Terra Nil is a serene game about leaving nothing but nature in your wake appeared first on Destructoid.

Retro Rampage

Being someone who never really stopped playing games after they reached their expiry date, I spend a lot of time thinking about the flow and evolution of game design. Why, after some successful genres reach a certain age, did the industry just collectively seem to move on? As with any art form, trends constantly emerge in the medium of video games. As is also common, we eventually circle back to the ones we fondly remember, and video games seem to be the most literal when it comes to that. It wasn’t enough for the side-scroller to reach a resurgence; the pixel-prominent visuals had to come with it.

Yet, we also live in an age where we are protective of our art. The internet has ensured that you can obscure, but you can’t destroy. If I’m ever in the mood for Roller Coaster Tycoon, it’s still within reach. How, then, does a retro-inspired game become successful? In a world where I can play Mega Man on modern consoles, what entices me to play Shovel Knight?

Good people to ask would be JoyMasher, creators of Oniken, Odallus, Blazing Chrome, and the recently released Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider. So, I did. Danilo Dias and Thais Weiller at JoyMasher took the time to talk to me about their approach to the retro formula.

[caption id="attachment_360841" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Destructoid[/caption]

Nintendo hard

A big obstacle for a lot of people when it comes to playing games from before the ‘90s is their difficulty. A descriptor that got thrown around a lot a couple of decades ago was “Nintendo hard,” and while I don’t hear that as often anymore, there’s still the perception that primordial games were more difficult. I’m not disputing that. Lives and continues aren’t seen as often, checkpoints are commonplace, and difficulty settings that let you choose your challenge are more widespread. I’m not complaining. I like a bit of challenge, but games were often made unfair to eat quarters and dissuade rentals; things that aren’t concerns anymore.

However, the lives system is still used today, primarily in retro-inspired games. “There are the types of retro games that tend to be difficult for the sake of getting quarters. This created some kind of culture that even console games should be difficult. This is kind of cool in some ways because you don’t need a lot of material to entertain for a long time,” Danilo explains.

A good example of this is Contra, or just about any run-and-gun shooter. Contra on NES can be completed in about a half-hour if you know what you’re doing, but because of its limited lives and continues, you’re not likely to beat it on your first try. You need to play it again and again, learning boss patterns and enemy locations, before you’ll finally be able to topple it.

To explain one of the benefits of this, Danilo brought up Elden Ring. “It’s super-long and super-difficult. It’s difficult for me, as an adult, to spend so much time in a game. But when you have a short game that you can play and replay and replay to get off a stage, the difficulty is there, but you become good as your replay. It’s designed in a way that I want to put in some of our games, so it’s difficult without being cheap or unfair.”

[caption id="attachment_357647" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The skill gap

I asked Danilo what his opinion was on what game has the perfect difficulty. “Super Mario Bros. 3 was difficult, but not impossible, and most kids during that time were able to beat it. It’s fun, but you get it really fast.” He also brought up Mega Man 2 as having the right balance of challenge and fun.

One thing that I’ve personally wondered about is how a developer can gauge difficulty when creating their game. Playing through a challenge you created yourself isn’t the same experience as having someone new try it for the first time.

Thais described that for Joymasher, “We generally try to aim at retro gamers, but we end up also hitting the other players. Some time ago, some students tested Moonrider. The players that they tried with were basically new players who didn’t have experience with retro games. We can’t pretend that we aren’t retro players. So we asked them to try the difficulty and try to assess if the difficulty was too much for this kind of player. Both times (because there were two different groups), the results were that they found the game difficult but fun and wanted to continue playing after the test was over.”

Danilo added that, “For younger players, retro games are a challenge, but they’re easier to understand. They’re not as complicated as something like Dark Souls which has a lot of buttons and mechanics.

Personally, I found Joymasher's Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider a bit on the easier side, but I have beefy thumbs honed by decades of pressing buttons real fast. Even still, I can point to games from the time period it emulates on the same level in terms of challenge. It fits with the era, it just avoids the quarter-sucking, rental-frustrating designs that were so common.

[caption id="attachment_357648" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Knowing your limitations

An important feature for me when it comes to retro-inspired games is aesthetic, and JoyMasher is one of the best at adhering to the look of previous generations. It’s more than just pixel art. Pixel art is a valid aesthetic choice in games like Stardew Valley, but I have more respect for developers that pull it off while being mindful of limited color palettes, animation, and tech restraints.

“Pixel art is a limitation as an artist, but also I will try to emulate the limitations of the hardware,” Danilo explained. This approach is also common to the soundtrack. He clarified that Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider doesn’t stick to the 6-channel FM-synth of the Genesis hardware, instead sounding more like a CD based system, such as the PC-Engine CD or Sega CD. The Japanese voice samples used are intended to harken back to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood when some of the bosses would taunt you.

The attitude toward pixel art, in general, has shifted substantially in the past decade. In the days of Xbox Live Arcade and Mega Man 9, anything pixel art was typically labeled with the blanket descriptor “8-bit,” and sometimes developers would be accused of pandering to nostalgia. Now, it’s more often seen as what it is; an aesthetic choice. A prevalent one, sure, but no more prevalent than cell-shading or photo-realism.

Aesthetic adhesive

It seems to be mostly a balancing act between trying to do something different while adhering to a previous era. It’s a method that is largely unique to video games, as storytelling mediums rarely reach back to the limitations of the past, unless it’s simply to make fun of them. Game design hasn’t necessarily gotten better over the years. While we’ve ditched some of the mistakes that were commonplace decades ago, there are plenty of new annoyances that have taken their place. Trends come and go, and what was popular a few years ago may have fallen out of fashion. Video games are less like a ball rolling down a hill and more like a sloshing cauldron of stew.

JoyMasher is very successful in that balancing act. Each one of their games has been worth playing, while still evoking eras gone by. Better yet, they do it while keeping to the limitations of the hardware. Whether or not games like Blazing Chrome and Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider go down in the books as classics is going to depend on the person playing them, but they can at least be pointed to as retro-inspiration done right.

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Some insight on NieR's legacy from some of its creative leads

NieR: Automata was recently ported to the Nintendo Switch, and by most accounts, it was an excellent transfer over.

Alongside checking the game out, we got the chance to send over a handful of questions to the leads behind NieR: Automata. Posed with the chance to ask director Yoko Taro, producer Yosuke Saito, and composer Keiichi Okabe about the 2017 game and its legacy, we inquired about a few things.

Could 2B ever cross over into more games? Why was bringing Automata to the Switch important? Does Yoko Taro love money? All of this and more lies below. (And yes, we did ask about the church, but did not receive a response.)

Yoko Taro, director

With five years since the release of NieR: Automata, what’s been the most surprising thing about its reception at launch and in the years since?

Since Saito P. of Square Enix said he wanted to target the Japanese market this time instead of the Western market, I created a game for Japanese audiences with a beautiful blindfolded girl wielding a Japanese sword, so it was a surprise to me that the game was a hit in the West.

Are you interested in any more crossovers like those in Final Fantasy XIV and PUBG, and with any game or media property in particular?

I, Yoko Taro am a slave to capitalism, so I will do anything as long as I am paid and will do nothing if there's no money in it.

Yosuke Saito, producer

What was the reasoning behind bringing NieR: Automata to Nintendo Switch, and what do you look forward to Switch players experiencing in it?

This came about because I wanted something to commemorate the game’s 5th anniversary, and after seeing ASTRAL CHAIN, I began to think that NieR: Automata could be released on the Nintendo Switch as well.

I think we've managed to port this as an extremely high level reproduction, and hope you'll play it!

Following Replicant, does the team have any interest in going further back into the NieR timeline to update or re-release any older entries? (The Drakengard games, for example)

The development of NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... was extremely challenging, so if I’m going to go through that much hard work again, I'd rather it be for something new (lol).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVAgd9dbYIs

Keiichi Okabe, composer

Has it been rewarding to see your music receive a significant amount of acclaim, and receive so many covers and remixes in places like Final Fantasy XIV? Do you have a favorite one in particular?

In the past, I was aware of the fact that a lot of people were listening to my music, but to be honest it never really sank in.

It gradually started to feel more real after hosting concerts and events, meeting fans in person, and seeing their reactions on social media.

I feel a sense of accomplishment but most of all I’m simply happy that so many people have heard the music and resonated with it. It's hard to choose a single favorite.

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